Steven Klukowski
KEETMANSHOOP – Alcohol can be regarded as one of the main factors prompting people to commit crime, said police regional commander for //Kharas Commissioner David Indongo in response to an inquiry from New Era.
He said because no crime, excluding those resulting from non-adherence of measures put in place due to the national state of emergency, has been taking place in the region over the recent long Easter weekend.
“This zero-crime rate can furthermore be attributed to the non-availability of alcohol, constant police visibility and, lastly, a sign that most //Kharas residents are adhering to the countrywide state of emergency regulations and guidelines that are in place,” the commissioner explained.
In terms of the recently announced countrywide Covid-19 lockdown, he said the police are waiting for new directives on additional measures and regulations to be enforced from 17 April at midnight and will then act accordingly. “Enforcement of these measures will be applicable to all the other 14 police stations in //Kharas region,” assured the regional police commander.
More police officers will be deployed on the streets to closely monitor movement of the general public as a means to enforce adherence to the news restriction measures.
“Police in the region will not necessarily target the public to issue fines for non-adherence, but [will] also concentrate on awareness by means of driving through the streets, informing and educating people on these measures put in place during the lockdown period,” said the regional commander.
His team will work closely with other law enforcement agencies and stakeholders, he said.
“The Namibian Defence Force, Namibian Correctional Services, the Keetmanshoop Municipality Traffic Division, Immigration Office, Customs Office and the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Namibian Police Force, will all be part of the recently-established Regional Operations Centre that will oversee the implementation of Covid-19 measures,” explained the commissioner.
He said permanent and temporary roadblocks will be put up at strategic points to monitor the public’s movements from midnight of Friday 17 April 2020. “We will, however, provide more details to the public once [we] receive a directive from our Head Quarters in Windhoek,” he added. On the movement of people between towns, he explained police station commanders and respective constituency or local authority councillors will be authorised to issue travel permits.
“This will, however, only be done in cases of the attendance of funerals and medical emergencies, whereby the necessary supporting documents should be provided before members of the public will be allowed to travel from one place to another,” he emphasised.
Indongo also said certified death certificates, police declarations authenticating the relation with the deceased, as well as doctors’ referral letters will be accepted as proof of reasons for such movements.
According to the regional commander, 54 fines have been issued to date for the illegal sale of alcohol since the announcement of the state of emergency. In addition, the police also fined three persons for non-adherence to or contravening state of emergency restrictions, as well as one person for obstructing police officers in executing their duties to enforce these measures. Each fine amounted to N$2 000. He urged all residents of //Kharas to adhere to the lockdown restrictions, to stay at home and to maintain social distancing at all times.