Monika Amunyela

“Behaviour is taught; how you speak, address people and do things; children will immediately pick up on it. They are imitating us,” Windhoek community member, Jane !Owases said.

Community members in Windhoek are alarmed by the number of high-rise crimes in Namibia. 

Following the death of three minors in the town of Okahandja last month, community members have started to question the upbringing of the youth in the country. 

They believe the adult behaviour towards the young contributes to the high crime rate. 

In an interview with the New Era, they raised concerns about the increasing violence, disorderly conduct, alcohol and drug abuse amongst the youth. They reasoned, adult behaviour has changed compared to how they grew up, and that boundaries were set in stone between children and adults.

!Owases believes the modern adults have erased values and traditions that they have been raised with and have replaced them with the western standards, which have mostly backfired. 

“Many young people today feel pressured to appear ‘cool’, often believing that the harsh or inappropriate behaviour modelled by adults is acceptable,” she said. 

She further stated that the behaviour of adults or people in a position of influence, such as celebrities, include bad language, disrespectful, harmful behaviour, the idolisation of alcohol, drugs and sexualising the human body; “the youth have started looking at such conduct as though it’s normal behaviour,” she said.

National African Students Association Khomas regional secretary, Shalom Shivolo, weighed in, saying a part of the problem is single parent homes, where fathers or mother are not present in homes makes it harder for a parent to manage everything, especially discipline. 

“Strong values need to be instilled in families. Ccommunity members need to come together to guide the younger generations. This begins with them changing their behaviour, their actions, dressing sense and consumption of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs,” she asserted. 

City police Superintendent Murapo emphasised that the adults’ behaviour is immediately imitated by children because youngsters follow in the footsteps of those they believe are wiser. 

Although as law enforcement they are guided by what is provided for by laws and can only work within that scope, when it comes to issues like public indecency, they have put up measures to educate the nation. 

As part of their policing strategy, they visit different schools and collaborate with different non-government organisations to empower Namibian youth and help them make decisions in life.

She noted that a lack of discipline and good morals can also lead to homelessness, drugs and alcohol abuse. 

“The abuse of these substances is used by some parents who are trying to balance parenthood and social lifestyles, and children pick this up. It doesn’t help that there are a lot of entertainment establishments that sell alcohol and expose minors to all sorts of behaviours. It would be great if these establishments met the police halfway to promote a better environment for minors by removing minors from their establishment and not selling to them,” Murapo said.

Moses //Garoeb constituency councillor Stephanes Ndengu also added and said they always watch out for the youth, because they understand the difficulties that come with raising a family. 

“In out attempts to keep the youth occupied and off of the streets, we have handed entrepreneurial tools and equipment to the constituency youth with the hope that this equipment will create job opportunities. Apart from bad behaviour, another cause of the increase in the crime rate in Namibia is unemployment,” he said. 

Annually, the council provides equipment for filming, equipment, music production, sports, Mielie crushing, among others. 

Ndengu urged the community to come together to make sure the youth are supported and taught well because there won’t be a productive Namibia without productive youth.