Victoria Kaapanda
ONGWEDIVA – Retired regional commander for Oshana Rauha Amwele has officially handed over the office to her successor, commissioner Naftal Lungameni Sakaria.
Amwele, who retired at the end of July, joined the Namibian Police in 1990, and served in various capacities across the country.
“I served the Namibian people for many years, and retired with honour and dignity. I am not leaving this institution because I am tired, but because my calling has been served,” she noted.
She motivated Sakaria to render and accord the same support, assistance and cooperation to the community.
Sakaria was recently appointed, and took up his new position on 1 August. He is a long-serving member with 26 years of experience in policing as well as areas such as operations, investigations, administration and training.
Prior to this appointment, he started his policing career on 1 May 1996 and received his basic training at the Oudtshoorn Police Training College in South Africa.
In an interview with New Era, he said he had completed his basic police training in November 1996, and was appointed as a member of the Namibian Police Force with the rank of constable.
“My first duty station was at Arandis in the Erongo region as an administrative clerk for the Special Field Force. In 1999, I moved from Erongo and was redeployed to the Ruben Danger Ashipala Training Centre as an instructor,” he stated.
He then served in various capacities across the country.
On 1 August 2022, he was promoted to the rank of commissioner, transferred from being the head of the Special Reserve Force, and appointed as police regional commander. “My academic qualifications are a National Diploma in Policing from the University of Pretoria, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the Namibia University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor’s in Policing Practice (Honours) from the Southern Business School.
Sakaria indicated that he is a family man, but keeps his family and work completely separated. “I have seen the best wishes on social media. I appreciate that, and hope we can put that energy into the fight against crime,” he added.
He said his forces will be reachable at any time to fight crime in the region. Their numbers will be freely shared so that people will be able to report and help fight crime.
“We will, therefore, put together a team to start with our community engagement activities in order to have a clear understanding of which problems are faced by which community or which area,” enthused Sakaria.
He said to succeed, it is imperative that the business community comes on board. “It is not a secret that we are faced with a global economic crisis, and Namibia is no exception. It is thus crucial that our business community meets us halfway in order to ensure sustained police operations, especially when it comes to mobility. For the members of the Oshana police, we can do this. The leadership philosophy is that of trust and inspiring. I personally believe that people are creative,” he continued.