Stefanus Nashama
The Namibian Police Force in the Khomas region has urged Windhoek residents, especially those in informal settlements, to collaborate with the police and report crimes promptly.
In recent weeks, community members have noticed an increase in crime in the Goreangab and Havana informal settlements.
Chief Inspector Katrina Naukushu, head of community policing in Khomas, while speaking to the Windhoek Observer on Monday, appealed to the community to collaborate with the police in fighting crimes.
“The police are part of the community, and the community is part of the police. We should all work together to fight crime,” she said.
She further encouraged community members to join crime prevention forums such as Neighbourhood Watch and the Men and Women Network to combat crime.
“The only way we can effectively combat crime is through public assistance. Criminals often monitor police patrol movements, and when they see the police, they hide on the other side. Public support is crucial in our fight against crime,” Naukushu said.
Naukushu emphasised that while the police cannot be present everywhere, they are constantly patrolling all areas.
She urged the media to join the operation every Friday to report while officers are on the ground patrolling.
She also advised community members to refrain from walking alone late at night.
“It’s unsafe to walk at night. Let’s collaborate and report crimes promptly for timely intervention,” she said.
Despite the existence of a men-and-women network in those areas, Naukushu said that more people are required to join and support the police.
In her appeal, she was referring to an incident where three unidentified men attacked two women in Goreangab last Friday and forcibly took their groceries, which were worth over N$500.
These include a 10kg bag of maize meal, two bags of rice (2 kg each), two bags of macaroni (3 kg each), two bottles of cooking oil, soup, sugar, and tins of fish.
The incident occurred at around 18H00 when the women were heading home.
Mariana Indongo, one of the victims, said they went to Goreangab Woermann Brock to buy food.
On their way home, just a short distance from the shopping centre, they saw three men coming from opposite directions, demanding money to buy cigarettes.
“We said we did not have any money. We only had the money we had spent on food. Suddenly, they forcefully grabbed our bags and ran away. They ran so fast that we couldn’t even see where they went to hide,” recounted Indongo.
She expressed shock, disappointment, and a lack of words, as the incident occurred swiftly while the public watched on.
“I think we took the wrong route because when we met those men, some other boys were smoking and listening to music. They did not even bother to help us. They only laughed at us,” she said.
Indongo said they did not open a case or report the incident to the police.
She urged the police to deploy more officers in the streets to enforce the law, maintain peace, and protect the people’s lives and property.
“Numerous activities are occurring in the streets, particularly in the informal settlements without street lights. With regular police patrols, many of these incidents could be prevented,” she expressed.
Goreangab residents have been crying out about losing their properties to criminals.
Some have lost their lives, phones, laptops, money, and many other things as a result of increasing crime in the area.
