WINDHOEK – The Namibian Police Force and Windhoek City Police on Friday embarked on a new joint operation to make the capital safer.
The operation is expected to close the vacuum left by the expiration of operations Hornkranz and Kalahari Desert. This new operation is deemed normal police work and thus has no special name.
Khomas regional police commander, Commissioner Joseph Shikongo said the operation’s focus is on crime prevention, detection and investigation. He said: “There is a situation where people are crying because of the crime and we asked ourselves, if our people are crying because of crime, where are these people coming from? We established that these people are from Khomas Region,” said Shikongo.
He added that they are going to react promptly to crime reports and anyone’s call.
“As much as we are waiting for more operations, we don’t want to have a vacuum. People are saying that since the departure of the Kalahari operation there is a vacuum, and if so, we want to fill it and want to fill the vacuum permanently. We will be on the ground from today [Friday] onwards,” said Shikongo.
Chief of City Police Abraham Kanime said they are going to focus on Zone 10, which is Otjomuise; Zone 3, which is Goreangab and Zone 1, representing Havana, Ombili, Okuryangava and Babylon settlements.
Zone 6, which represents Damara and Wambo locations, will also be covered.
“They (these zones) are in chaos and those are the areas to start with but don’t misunderstand our approach. The people will say the police are at these areas and we should be at the other areas. We are in all areas. What we are saying is that we are not going to leave any stone unturned in these areas, especially to criminals,” said Kanime.
The City Police chief said they would also deal firmly with drunk drivers, underage drinking and people contravening all by-laws.
Namibian Police Deputy-Inspector General for Operations, Major General Oscar Embubulu, told officers involved in the operation that after criticisms on social media of the recent joint operations with the army, they want to show the community that Nampol and the City Police still exist and are formidable enough to take care of the safety and security of the country.
“If you check the clips on social media, there are funny remarks, such as let the NDF come back [because] the police is useless. This is the belief that I want to quell out of the minds of the people we are serving,” remarked Embubulu.
He called on the officers to be professional and serve without fear or favour.
Tobias Hainyeko Constituency Councillor Christopher Likuwa urged the police to make an example of culprits defying the laws and by-laws. “If you find someone selling after hours, arrest the owner of the shebeen. Take their belongings and let it be an example for people in Khomas Region,” he said.