Details of the case:
On Tuesday 15 April 2014 somebody stole the pet parrot of Sakkie, my helper, out of it's cage in Sakkies house in Nau-Aib, Okahandja. After talking to his neighbors Sakkie found out who had stolen the parrot. So on Wednesday morning he went to the Okahandja police station to open a case of theft against the thief, who is employed in the Namibian army in a nearby camp. He was told to come back in two hours.
Coming to work late, he told me about his predicament, attended to his job and was back at the police station two hours later, only to find out that nothing had happened in the meantime. He did not turn up for work on Thursday, as the police had told him to wait there, since they had no car available to drive to the army camp.
When he turned up for work on Friday, a public Holiday, I found out that no case had been opened and still nothing had been done to apprehend the thief. So I decided to accompany him to the police in order to get more details about why nothing had been done yet.
Five officers where behind the counter. All of them began to verbally attack Sakkie, telling him he hadn't made a case, only a report and he hadn't waited there as told and hadn't informed them when he left to get some lunch. I said we were here to now open a case, not report. Upon that we were again told to wait.
After waiting for about 20 minutes, the traffic cop with the car came in to tell me I should drive ahead, he would catch up with me along the road as he was driving very fast. I did as I was told, waiting somewhere along the road again for half an hour, as the car wasn't coming as expected. Eventually they sped past me hooting and I followed them to the army camp.
On arrival at the camp, the traffic cop and police officer walked to the barracks accompanied by an army officer, then returned to tell us the guy wasn't there since it was a Public Holiday. Another army officer came up to us to get the story, then walked to their hospital, where the guy was supposed to work, but he wasn't there either.
The police officer told the army officer that we were going to open a case and then he would just have to take the guy into custody. We came here to give the guy a chance to state his side and give back the stolen bird. The army officer then took our telephone numbers and said he would come back to us.
We then returned home, while the police and traffic cop drove off in a different direction. Right up to today, Sunday 20 April 2014, the case is wrapped in silence.
Analysis:
1. A theft was reported, but no criminal docket was opened.
2. The plaintiff was not informed of procedures to be followed.
3. The plaintiff was put on hold for 2 days.
This is a clear case of not taking complaints seriously, thereby promoting criminality in Namibia.
4. Plaintiff is openly portrayed as the guilty partner in this case for not having followed instructions from police to wait.
This is a clear indication of a guilty conscience for not following proper procedures in a criminal case.
5. Without any official docket a trip of 30km was undertaken on public cost.
6. This trip was undertaken on a Public Holiday, meaning double pay.
This is a clear case of misuse of public funds.
7. The time delay gave the alleged criminal ample opportunity to get rid of any evidence.
This is a clear case of complicity with suspect and bias toward other officials.
8. This case still has not been officially docketed.
Conclusion:
The Namibian police in Okahandja are not only incompetent but also abetting criminality in the country by their flat refusal to record complaints properly.
This is further mentioned by LAC as reported by Refworld.
Update 6 May: According to Sakkie, the alleged thief in the meantime paid him the price of the bird plus an additional amount for Sakkies emotional hurt, after Sakkie had put his case before the military police at Ozona.
On Tuesday 15 April 2014 somebody stole the pet parrot of Sakkie, my helper, out of it's cage in Sakkies house in Nau-Aib, Okahandja. After talking to his neighbors Sakkie found out who had stolen the parrot. So on Wednesday morning he went to the Okahandja police station to open a case of theft against the thief, who is employed in the Namibian army in a nearby camp. He was told to come back in two hours.
Coming to work late, he told me about his predicament, attended to his job and was back at the police station two hours later, only to find out that nothing had happened in the meantime. He did not turn up for work on Thursday, as the police had told him to wait there, since they had no car available to drive to the army camp.
When he turned up for work on Friday, a public Holiday, I found out that no case had been opened and still nothing had been done to apprehend the thief. So I decided to accompany him to the police in order to get more details about why nothing had been done yet.
Five officers where behind the counter. All of them began to verbally attack Sakkie, telling him he hadn't made a case, only a report and he hadn't waited there as told and hadn't informed them when he left to get some lunch. I said we were here to now open a case, not report. Upon that we were again told to wait.
After waiting for about 20 minutes, the traffic cop with the car came in to tell me I should drive ahead, he would catch up with me along the road as he was driving very fast. I did as I was told, waiting somewhere along the road again for half an hour, as the car wasn't coming as expected. Eventually they sped past me hooting and I followed them to the army camp.
On arrival at the camp, the traffic cop and police officer walked to the barracks accompanied by an army officer, then returned to tell us the guy wasn't there since it was a Public Holiday. Another army officer came up to us to get the story, then walked to their hospital, where the guy was supposed to work, but he wasn't there either.
The police officer told the army officer that we were going to open a case and then he would just have to take the guy into custody. We came here to give the guy a chance to state his side and give back the stolen bird. The army officer then took our telephone numbers and said he would come back to us.
We then returned home, while the police and traffic cop drove off in a different direction. Right up to today, Sunday 20 April 2014, the case is wrapped in silence.
Analysis:
1. A theft was reported, but no criminal docket was opened.
2. The plaintiff was not informed of procedures to be followed.
3. The plaintiff was put on hold for 2 days.
This is a clear case of not taking complaints seriously, thereby promoting criminality in Namibia.
4. Plaintiff is openly portrayed as the guilty partner in this case for not having followed instructions from police to wait.
This is a clear indication of a guilty conscience for not following proper procedures in a criminal case.
5. Without any official docket a trip of 30km was undertaken on public cost.
6. This trip was undertaken on a Public Holiday, meaning double pay.
This is a clear case of misuse of public funds.
7. The time delay gave the alleged criminal ample opportunity to get rid of any evidence.
This is a clear case of complicity with suspect and bias toward other officials.
8. This case still has not been officially docketed.
Conclusion:
The Namibian police in Okahandja are not only incompetent but also abetting criminality in the country by their flat refusal to record complaints properly.
This is further mentioned by LAC as reported by Refworld.
Update 6 May: According to Sakkie, the alleged thief in the meantime paid him the price of the bird plus an additional amount for Sakkies emotional hurt, after Sakkie had put his case before the military police at Ozona.
I think what could have been done, is Sakkie could request to see the station commander for clarity on why a case was not recorded. Why a suspect was not brought before court to answer to the allegation of theft.
ReplyDeleteSee the station commander? Hey, that would be like a beggar asking to see the king. Our people are too intimidated by the police to even try that.
ReplyDelete