The Namibian Police seem oblivious about their powers, duties and responsibilities as police law enforcement agency.

This is so, because many times, police found themselves embroiled and entangled in matters that are not falling within their mandate. This situation that is worrisome and may cause confusion as to what are the real power, duties and responsibilities of the Namibian Police. By law, the police are allowed only to be involved in State-citizen disputes and not citizen-citizen dispute. Some examples where police found themselves entangled in private matters are when a person dealt in private business transaction such person usually would approach the police to serve as a guarantee that the business transaction he/she about to enter is protected or would be honoured by the other party and that there is comfort that such business transaction is protected and subsequently would be enforceable in a court of law.

Unfortunately, the police force members allowed themselves to be used and made parties to private transactions or contractual business agreements that are not regulated by public law. Once the other party to a business transaction saw that a transaction is done in the presence of the police, he/she gets convinced that it is a fair and legitimate business transaction. For example, when a vehicle owner involved in a road accident caused by the negligent of the other driver resulted in damages to his/her vehicle, usually such vehicle owner who believe that the other driver is responsible would invite him/her to the police station to make him/her admit at a police station that he/she is liable to the vehicle owner for costs of repairing the damaged vehicle.

Out of fear and unaware of how the law of delicts works, such a person may make an admission to be liable and responsible for the costs of damage to the vehicle owner, simply because police/traffic officers were roped in to assist the vehicle owner.

In terms of the law of delicts, all wrongs against the private interests of a person are enforceable through civil law proceedings and not through criminal law.

The Namibian Police further found themselves playing a role of judiciary, as they sometimes turned themselves into a quasi-judiciary authority, trying members of the public who happened to have disputes among themselves.

It has been observed that mostly in rural areas, police summoned members of the public to the police stations, thereby subjecting them to questioning, interrogating them about who accuses whom of matters like witchcraft or superstitions, or accuse others of being ill or spreading diseases, etc.

Police are said to even determine who is right and who is wrong and subsequently punish members of the public. Instead of investigating alleged commission of crime, collecting evidence, and presenting it to court to prove a specific crime, police found themselves engaging in pretrial judicial stages at police stations. Such a state of affairs, if not addressed, would result in a kangaroo court justice system at various police stations.

It is important for the police to differentiate between criminal and civil liabilities. Incidents of police brutality have also been reported and resulted in lawsuits instituted against the Namibian Police by aggrieved persons who claimed that their fundamental rights or freedom have been infringed by police actions.A spouse in a marriage suspecting that his/her spouse is involved in infidelity with a third party, would approach the police station and report such infidelity. Sadly, some police officers allowed themselves to be involved in such bedroom affairs, which are of a private nature and distant from the powers, duties and responsibilities of police officers.

In terms of the Namibian Police Act (Act 19 of 1990), the functions of the Namibian Police, powers and duties are the preservation of the internal security of Namibia, the maintenance of law and order, the investigation of any offence or alleged offence, the prevention of crime and the protection of life and property. The general principles of the law of contract provides for freedom of contract and fairness in any agreement, therefore, whenever any person contracting with another in private or had his/her private interest affected, such private matter is regulated by private law and not by public laws that  are enforced through the Namibian Police.

Public education needs to be carried out to educate members of the public about matters that fall within the Namibian Police force’s ambit and those that fall within the purview of civil proceedings, to avoid confusion.

*Lucas Tshuuya is a policing expert and a legal practitioner of the High Court of Namibia. Follow him at tshuuya@iway.na