Suzith Tjitaura
KEETMANSHOOP – Residents of Keetmanshoop have suggested that the Namibian Police introduce curfews and set up CCTV cameras and mobile police stations to curb gangsterism and other gang-related crimes in the town.
Residents during a community police engagement meeting here last Thursday, also suggested that the police consider deploying members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in the streets of the southern town to assist in curbing crime. NamPol //Kharas regional commander, Commissioner, Marius Katamila, said one of the factors contributing to or causing gangsterism is drugs, as rival gangs fight over territories where drugs should be sold.
“We are working very hard in collaboration with the South African Police to ensure that we stop all the drugs coming into our town. Between the end of October and mid-December, we intercepted drugs worth N$8 million that were destined for Keetmanshoop. We need you as community members to be our ears and eyes as we are not there 24 hours at every corner,” said the commissioner.
Katamila added that people’s houses as well as businesses are being broken into while robbery has become the order of the day.
On the issue of curfew and the deployment of soldiers on the streets, the regional commander said Namibia is a free country and people are allowed to move freely. Curfews can only be set up by Parliament, as they need to be gazetted.
“The NDF and the police have different mandates, and we saw during Covid-19, that combination did not work, and we still sit with the aftermath of Covid-19. However, I will stress this point to my boss,” he said.
Pastor Gordon Titus said he established a group of men to give counselling to gang members in the hope of getting to the root cause of gangsterism.
“We have started to speak to these boys, and have asked the police for 21 days, after which we can see what other interventions are needed. We want to know from them what the issue is that resulted in them turning to gangsterism and violent crimes,” stressed Titus.
Other issues raised by the residents were the rising number of street kids in town, shebeen operating hours, missing dockets, and the abuse of alcohol and drugs among young people.
-Nampa