Clemans Miyanicwe
Kamanjab-Two girls aged 14 and 15 recently appeared before the Khorixas court for alleged possession of cannabis. The two had dropped out of Grade 7 at Versteende Woud Primary School.
They were locked up in the cells of the newly constructed section of Khorixas Police Station.
New Era contacted the Khorixas Magistrate’s Court but the court could not provide information on the two teenage girls. But according to Sergeant Amon Kapiye the teenage girls allegedly stole N$1,000 from a house they had visited in Donkerhoek informal settlement in Khorixas a week ago and they used the money to buy six packets of cannabis.
“They visited a house of a man and when he was out they stole N$1,000 from his bag in a bedroom, according to the information we got. In the morning we got a report and the police questioned them and they admitted to the theft of money,” Kapiye said upon inquiry.
During the questioning and search the police discovered six packets of dagga from one teenage girl together with a N$200 note which is believed to have been part of the stolen money.
However, the girls said they only stole N$700 and not N$1,000 as reported to the police. Although the teenagers were initially three, the police were informed by the two girls who were arrested that their friend was not part of the theft of money from the house at Donkerhoek. The six packs of dagga have a street value of N$60 according to Kapiye.
The two teenage girls who divided the money amongst themselves are part of a gang of Donkerhoek teenagers known for terrorising locals in the informal settlement and at the soccer field of the Eddie Bowe Primary School where they grab cellphones, money and other valuables according to Kapiye.
“They are a group of teenagers known for robbing individuals of their phones and money,” said Kapiye.
The teenage gang members are well known in the Donkerhoek informal settlement and some of its members were identified at a community meeting held last year, according to Kapiye. The gang looks out for individuals during the day and targets them at night when they are out drinking.
When asked what drives Donkerhoek informal settlement teenagers to join gangs, Kapiye said that poverty and poor parental support are the driving factors behind it.