2016-01-25Staff Report 2 Oshakati The Minister of Safety and Security Charles Namoloh has asked parents to stop sending their intellectually challenged children to the police force. Namoloh said this while addressing a police pass out parade of the Basic Police Training Intake One of 2015 for Ruben Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre at Oshakati on Friday. According to Namoloh, Namibians have a misconception that the police force is for intellectually challenged people –which is not the case. Because more failures are sent to the police, the justice system is weakened as police lose a number of cases and this gives the police a bad image. “We are losing cases because you are giving us fools who can’t even write. Some of you (parents) come to us begging us to recruit your children because they have failed at school. Stop bringing us those failures,” Namoloh said. “It is your responsibility as parents to make sure that your child receives proper education. Check what subject your child is doing at school. Police need intellectual people, not fools,” he said. Namoloh further tongue-lashed police officers who demand promotions when they do not perform or simply further their studies, maintaining that promotion is earned. “Some of you are claiming that you have been in the force for so many years but you have not been promoted. You can sit in Grade 12 for six years but nobody will give you a certificate if you have not performed. It is the same in the [police] force.” “Some of you are just seated in the office, finishing oxygen, and when you are not promoted you come to my office or write letters to the Office of the President and the ombudsman. Who said you are going to be promoted?” Namoloh fumed. He said the basic training should not be viewed as the end of career development in the police as police officers are expected to study further and gain more knowledge beyond the basic training. Furthermore, Namoloh also cautioned police officers who think that being uniformed makes them superior to the communities they serve. He said police officers are not above the law. “As such we will not take kindly to members who will opt to tarnish the image of the police force through reckless and irresponsible behaviour or by being accomplices in any criminal activity,” He said. The Inspector General of the Namibian Police Sebastian Ndeitunga, who was present at the ceremony, said the Namibian Police senior command conference held in Lüderitz in November of 2015 had resolved that as of the financial year 2016/2017, the basic police training would be extended to 12 months, as opposed to the current six months. “Such expansion of the training period will enable our training directorate to implement the revised curriculum, which includes gender-based violence as a subject, among others, to empower police officers to be able to better deal with all sensitive cases professionally,” said Ndeitunga Out of 815 cadet constables who reported for training that commenced on the July 1, 2015 at Ruben Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre, 783 completed the training. The graduates consist of 580 males and 203 females. At least 32 cadet constables were withdrawn due to several reasons, including ill health, while some resigned. 2016-01-25Staff Report 2
