The Namibian police is racing against time to recover an AK-47 rifle and four service pistols stolen by trial-awaiting inmates who violently escaped from the Onandjaba Police Station in the Omusati region.
The incident has left authorities fearing the weapons could now be used against the public.
The dramatic breakout, which happened on Sunday evening, has triggered a large-scale manhunt stretching across the northern part of the country and towards the Angola border, with police warning that the escapees are armed and highly dangerous.
Omusati regional commander Commissioner Ismael Basson yesterday laid bare the incident.
“They are already in the hands of wrong people. That makes everybody at risk. We are serious in terms of tracing them and recovering these firearms,” Basson said. The inmates allegedly escaped after overpowering police officers who were distributing food and medication inside the holding cells at around 17h00 on
Sunday.
According to the official police crime report, the suspects assaulted officers, threatened a female officer with a pistol, and accessed the station’s strong room before fleeing.
Well-placed sources also told New Era that the incident unfolded rapidly after officers opened the cells to serve dinner to inmates. The first officer who entered the cell area was allegedly attacked and handcuffed and held hostage for almost an hour by the inmates.
“When another officer noticed that his colleague was taking too long, he went to investigate, but he was also overpowered,” a source said.
“One female officer was slapped during the confrontation before the inmates managed to steal the firearms and escape,” the source revealed.
Basson confirmed yesterday that the suspects escaped with one AK-47 rifle and four pistols belonging to the Namibian police.
“In fact, it’s one AK-47 and four pistols. Nothing recovered,” he said. Police have since intensified operations in Omusati and neighbouring regions in an attempt to rearrest the suspects and recover the missing firearms before they are used in violent crimes.
Basson said officers from the Oshana and Ohangwena regions have joined the pursuit.
“We had assistance from Oshana; we had assistance from Ohangwena in the hot pursuit of these inmates. That’s how we managed to recover and rearrest one suspect,” he said.
Only one of the five escapees, identified as Emmanuel Eliaser, an Angolan national facing a rape charge, has so far been rearrested,” the career officer said. Eliaser was apprehended near the Namibia-Angola borderline during the manhunt operation. “The others are still on the run,” he said.
The remaining fugitives are Nestor Chitaleni Cornelius, Nicodemus Junius, Amukwaya Matias, and Awala Johannes, all Namibians.
The suspects were initially arrested for serious offenses ranging from rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances to housebreaking, theft, and assault.
Basson warned communities not to approach the fugitives.
“These guys are regarded as dangerous. When they see them, they must report them. It must be clear that these members overpowered the police officers, and that’s how they managed to escape. They are armed as we speak, and that makes them very dangerous to society,” he said.
The commissioner stressed that police would continue searching until all the suspects are rearrested and the firearms are recovered.
“The fight is on. The hunting is still on. We are not going to sleep until we rearrest them and recover some of those firearms,” Basson said.
The incident has also placed renewed attention on security weaknesses at police holding facilities in the Omusati region following several previous escape incidents from stations such as Outapi and Oshifo.
Asked why inmate escapes continue to occur in the region, Basson said previous cases involved suspects cutting through roofs or exploiting structural weaknesses in holding cells.
“What we did after those incidents was strengthen security and deploy officers behind the holding cells to patrol around the stations,” he explained. He said however the Onandjaba incident was different because officers were attacked while carrying out routine duties, he said.
“These ones, members were doing their duty, feeding them and giving medication. In that process, they were overpowered. So, we just need to re-look into that and remind our members to be more vigilant going forward,” he said.
Security sources yesterday described the theft of police firearms as the most alarming part of the escape.
“The escape itself is serious, but once police weapons disappear, it becomes a major public safety issue,” one source said. Residents in parts of Omusati and nearby border communities have reportedly become increasingly concerned about the possibility of armed fugitives hiding in villages while evading capture.
Basson appealed to the public, including relatives of the suspects, to cooperate with investigators.
“Even family members, when they spot them, they must report them. We are calling on the public to assist us. Every witness that sees or hears something must come forward,” he said.
Basson said the police will remain on high alert as the search for the remaining suspects and the missing firearms continues.