By Albertina Nakale
WINDHOEK– The Namibian police at Walvis Bay on Saturday arrested a man believed to be in his late 30s for allegedly impersonating a Namibian Defence Force (NDF) officer.
According to police sources the man had lied to the Kuisebmond communiuty that he was a member of the NDF.
The public became suspicious when they saw and heard him bragging that he is a NDF member although he never wore a military uniform. He was arrested after complaints to the police
The Tutaleni police at Walvis Bay where the imposter was detained said he arrived at the town on May 22 claiming he was on a mission for the NDF.
“He claimed he was working for military intelligence in the NDF. The owner of the house where he was renting a shack became scared because he had a gun on him. We went to investigate and involved members of the navy because we were not sure whether he was really on a mission or not. When we went to search for the gun we could not get it anywhere in his shack. And he could also not provide us with any documentation that he worked for the NDF,” a police source said.
The police officer said during their search they came across a bag which contained a big tortoise.
“When we asked him about the tortoise, he said it is his private pet that his late grandmother gave him. And he told us that he owns two but one is in hiding and if anyone sees it, it’s very dangerous. He said his tortoises’ names are ‘Pohamba’ and ‘Sam’. He also told us he could not not leave his pet alone during his arrest and no one should take it away from him,” said the police officer.
Moreover, the police said, the man could only provide a declaration that stated his name as Peter Simasiku and that he was born in 1975.
The police called one of the suspect’s brothers in Katima Mulilo who confirmed that they are indeed blood brothers, but that his brother never worked in the NDF although he worked for the former South Africa Defence Force before independence.
The Erongo Police Deputy Commissioner, Andreas Nelumbu, who is also the acting regional commander confirmed that a man was arrested for impersonating an NDF member but could not shed more light on the man’s origins.
“He was pretending to be a member of the NDF. The community became suspicious of him and reported the matter to the police. We have not yet established his nationality and why he was pretending to be a NDF member. We will continue with our thorough investigations,” Nelumbu told New Era yesterday.