EDITORIAL: Officer Kavari’s foolish power trip must have consequences
Every society has its share of rotten apples. For the Namibian Police, that badge of dishonour now rests squarely on Warrant Officer Mutari Kavari, whose reckless, thuggish behaviour last week was a textbook example of how not to wear a uniform.
Kavari, clearly drunk on the tiniest drop of perceived power, forcibly snatched a phone from one of our journalists who was filming a crash involving a police vehicle and a GRN bakkie. The scene was a public one, yet Kavari behaved as if it were his backyard, throwing around his badge like a playground bully with no understanding of media rights or the law he supposedly upholds.
His antics didn’t end there. In a move that reveals more about his ignorance than any training he may have received, he took the phone to the police station, where it was kept overnight - as if detaining a piece of evidence from a crime scene. But there was no crime - only Kavari’s foolish attempt to suppress the truth.
Was he driving without authorisation? Why was he so desperate to make the footage disappear? These are questions the public deserves answers to.
This kind of caveman conduct reflects the very worst of the police service. Kavari’s actions not only violated a journalist’s rights, but dragged the reputation of the force through the mud - and potentially harmed Namibia’s international standing on press freedom.
Warrant Officer Kavari may have mistaken his rank for a licence to bully, but he must now learn the hard way that the uniform is not a shield for idiocy. Internal disciplinary action must follow - and swiftly. Kavari made his bed in broad daylight, and the whole nation watched. Now he must lie in it.
Kavari, clearly drunk on the tiniest drop of perceived power, forcibly snatched a phone from one of our journalists who was filming a crash involving a police vehicle and a GRN bakkie. The scene was a public one, yet Kavari behaved as if it were his backyard, throwing around his badge like a playground bully with no understanding of media rights or the law he supposedly upholds.
His antics didn’t end there. In a move that reveals more about his ignorance than any training he may have received, he took the phone to the police station, where it was kept overnight - as if detaining a piece of evidence from a crime scene. But there was no crime - only Kavari’s foolish attempt to suppress the truth.
Was he driving without authorisation? Why was he so desperate to make the footage disappear? These are questions the public deserves answers to.
This kind of caveman conduct reflects the very worst of the police service. Kavari’s actions not only violated a journalist’s rights, but dragged the reputation of the force through the mud - and potentially harmed Namibia’s international standing on press freedom.
Warrant Officer Kavari may have mistaken his rank for a licence to bully, but he must now learn the hard way that the uniform is not a shield for idiocy. Internal disciplinary action must follow - and swiftly. Kavari made his bed in broad daylight, and the whole nation watched. Now he must lie in it.
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Namibian Sun
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