Panic spread in Outapi over the weekend after seven inmates escaped from police custody, prompting the Omusati police to launch a region-wide manhunt.
Omusati Police regional commander Ismael Basson, confirmed the incident.
He said the prisoners escaped by cutting through the roof of their holding cell on Saturday night at the Outapi police station.
“Seven inmates escaped, and only two have been re-arrested. The other five are still at large. We don’t know what tools they used, but we found the roof cut open,” he said.
Outapi station, which holds more prisoners than it was designed for, is under increasing pressure after Okahao station was closed for renovations nearly two years ago.
It is really overcrowded.
Outapi is the largest station in Omusati – but with Okahao station under renovation for nearly two years now, all their inmates are currently housed at Outapi, which worsens the situation,” he said.
Basson said security checks are conducted but are not performed regularly.
Regular cell visits and roof inspections are scheduled.
But somehow, these things happen whether we do them or not. The truth is, we don’t enforce them as strictly as we should,” he admitted.
The commissioner expressed concern about potential internal involvement in smuggling contraband into the holding cells.
“At times, we even suspect some of our own members of helping inmates get items such as cellphones. Inmates don’t have direct visits, so whatever comes in goes through officers. We cannot rule out that possibility,” he said.
Some experts have proposed installing cellphone jamming devices in police stations, but Basson said such a solution has failed elsewhere.
“It was tested in Windhoek, but it jams everyone in the area, including police officers who need to stay reachable in emergencies. So, it’s not practical,” he stated.
The regional police are now collaborating with other stations and regions to apprehend the five escapees.
“It’s a matter of communication. Other stations are helping us track down these men. We can’t say whether they are still in the country or not, but we know at least one might have escaped,” Basson said.
He shared that while one of the fugitives, an Angolan national, may have fled across the border, the others are believed to still be in Namibia.
Basson said details and photographs of the escapees will soon be released to the public to help speed up their capture.