Loide Jason
Police in Omusati Region are requesting people in both Namibia and Angola to help trace an Angolan inmate who escaped from the Outapi Magistrate’s Court cells in August last year. Police spokesperson in the region, Warrant Officer Lineekela Shikongo said the suspect, Simeon Andreas, who committed fraud in Ondangwa in the Oshana Region, was still on the loose. Shikongo said Andreas falsely told the police officers at Ondangwa that he was scheduled to appear at Outapi Magistrate’s Court and needed to be escorted there. The police then escorted 11 detainees who were scheduled to appear at Outapi Magistrate’s Court for different transgressions, amongst them Andreas.
“When the two police officers who escorted the detainees received the court roll, they learned that Andreas’ name was not on the roll and neither has a case at Outapi,” said Shikongo. The two officers were occupied with attending to the other suspects who were to appear in court. One police officer then went to collect something at the office of the prosecutor while his colleague escorted the suspects to the police van. Shikongo said the police only realised that one suspect was missing when the others got into the police van. “They rushed to go back to the court cells thinking that they forgot him inside but they found nobody inside and it is not clear how he escaped and what time he did so,” explained Shikongo. Shikongo said the matter needs serious investigation. “It needs critical thinking for one to determine how the suspect got away with it.” Shikongo said the police are hard at work looking for him but those who know his whereabouts can inform the police.