ONGWEDIVA - The police regional commander of Oshana Region has instructed the regional internal investigation unit to scrutinise allegations of victimisation made by a female police officer at Ondangwa police station.
In a video and an audio circulating on social media, a police officer, who identified herself as [Constable] Toini Venokatili Hamutumbangela, claims that she has fallen victim to a political witch-hunt, which caused her not to get any promotion for over 19 years.
Oshana Police Regional Commander, Commissioner Ruaha Amwele, confirmed that she is aware of the recording and has instructed the internal investigation unit to probe the matter.
“I cannot say much at the moment, I have given the case to the internal investigation team to look into the matter,” Amwele said.
“We first need to determine the circumstances surrounding the situation of the officer in question. The team needs to draw her files and see if she has a criminal case against her or not. Within the police force, any small case can hinder your promotion – it can include negligent or reckless driving,” she added.
According to Amwele it is well stipulated in the rules and regulations of the police force that members with pending cases are not eligible for promotion until they are cleared of the wrongdoings by the courts or by the office of the prosecutor general.
In the video where she poured her heart out, the emotional Hamutumbangela claimed that she joined the police force in 2000 as a constable. For almost two decades that she has been in the force, she has not received a single promotion.
She claims that her perdition started a few years after she joined the force when a senior police officer approached her with advances to join the once official opposition party – Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). She turned down the advances.
This allegedly resulted in constant victimisation by her seniors. Her alleged efforts to have the issued resolved by other seniors police officers were always brushed aside. This in fact had her labelled as a troublesome officer.
She claims that her alleged bad reputation has been passed on to every incoming station commander.
Hamutumbangela claims that over the almost two decades of her employment, she has observed her juniors being promoted and moved to areas with less workload, a mere few years after she had inducted them. Yet no one seems to have recognized her efforts, as she remains in the charge office.
Out of frustration she recorded the video with the hope that it reaches the Founding President Sam Nujoma, who according to her personally knew her father. She claims that her father Hafeni Hamutumbangela was a well-known freedom fighter who was killed in 1978 during the war of liberation.
New Era’s attempt to get Hamutumbangela to comment on her video proved futile as her mobile phone went unanswered.