Fingerprint backlogs frustrate police work

Delays in processing fingerprint records are hampering the Namibian Police’s efforts to quickly identify repeat offenders, with investigators forced to wait for results from a single national forensic office serving all 14 regions.

Oshana regional head of crime investigations, Deputy Commissioner John Matongwe, told Namibian Sun on Tuesday that while the police have a fingerprint identification system capable of detecting suspects with previous criminal records, a growing backlog means results are often not available in time to assist investigators.

"By nature it doesn’t take time, but we have backlogs. We only have one central office for all fingerprints serving all 14 regions,” Matongwe said.

“If Oshana submits 300 fingerprint requests, Windhoek 500 and Erongo 1 000, it takes time for the head office to generate the results,” he said.

The delays can make it more difficult for investigators to immediately establish whether a suspect has previous cases in other regions, information that could be relevant during investigations and bail proceedings, Matongwe said.

Despite the bottleneck, he said detectives remain proactive by sharing information across regional commands and tracking suspects believed to have committed offences in different parts of the country.

Matongwe said lengthy criminal proceedings are also driven by factors beyond police investigations. These include the complexity of cases, applications for state-funded legal representation and postponements requested by defence lawyers.

He stressed that all accused persons are entitled to a fair trial and are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

On the trail of Mateus

The fingerprint backlog has again come under scrutiny after police confirmed that murder and fraud-accused Abner Mateus has eight pending criminal cases across Namibia, none of which has resulted in a conviction.

More than five of the cases are registered in the Oshana region, Matongwe said, while another was logged in Khomas.

Two were opened in 2012 and another two in 2013. In 2013, Mateus was arrested in the Oshana region in connection with allegations of armed robbery, housebreaking and kidnapping while serving as a police officer.

Two years later, Mateus again appeared before court alongside Albertus Kahembe, Lukas Nekwiyu and David Oiva Johannes after they were arrested for allegedly attempting to rob a Chinese businessman at Oshikango.

Those four matters have since been consolidated and are before the Ondangwa Regional Court, where Mateus is expected to appear again on 5 November. In 2021, Mateus was again arrested after police allegedly found him in possession of forged documents while driving without a valid driver’s licence.

Police alleged he was carrying a forged Anti-Corruption Commission appointment certificate, a fake force number and documents bearing the alleged forged signature of then inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga. Investigators further alleged that he was found with another person’s bank statement, which they believed was intended for use in a fraud scheme.

Matongwe said a separate case registered at Omuthiya involving an elderly pensioner is the matter investigators believe ultimately led to the alleged plot to murder late prosecutor Justine Shiweda. Mateus is also among the accused in the alleged N$2.1 million Sanlam fraud scheme, which police allege financed the murder plot.

In 2016, the Namibian Police became one of the first law enforcement agencies in Southern Africa to introduce the Namibian Automated Biometric Identification System (N-ABIS), an automated fingerprint and facial recognition platform designed to strengthen criminal investigations and identity verification.