Allexer Namundjembo
Four witnesses have filed statements in the High Court contradicting the Namibian Police’s version of events surrounding the arrest of former Spitzkoppe tour guide Melvin //Areseb, who is suing the police and three officers for N$2.8 million over an alleged assault while in custody.
Court documents seen by the Windhoek Observer show that police officers Willem Jantze and Raphael Kaundu deny assaulting //Areseb or witnessing any of their colleagues assault him during his arrest on 22 August 2025.
Their co-defendant, Warrant Officer Jonas Flai, does not expressly admit or deny assaulting //Areseb in his witness statement, but supports the police account that only reasonable force was used after the plaintiff became aggressive.
The civil claim cites the minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security, the Inspector-General of the Namibian Police Force, and officers Jonas Flai, Raphael Kaundu, and Willem Jantze as defendants.
According to the officers’ witness statements, police were dispatched to Spitzkoppe after receiving a report that //Areseb, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, had assaulted his girlfriend, punched his mother, and threatened family members with a knife.
Jantze states that officers repeatedly identified themselves before //Areseb eventually opened the door to his house. According to his statement, Sergeant Reino questioned //Areseb about the reported domestic violence incident, prompting the plaintiff to become aggressive.
“He got offended by the question and started to grab Sergeant Reino on his chest and pushed him constantly backwards until they both fell to the ground,” Jantze states.
Jantze denies assaulting //Areseb at any stage.
“Concerning these allegations of Melvin that he was assaulted by me and my fellow colleagues this is not true,” his witness statement reads.
Flai gives a similar account, stating that //Areseb was intoxicated and became violent while officers explained why they had come to the property.
“Melvin was under the influence of alcohol as I observed and he became violent towards Sergeant Reino while he was explaining to him the reason we came to his house,” Flai states.
According to Flai, //Areseb swore at officers before grabbing Sergeant Reino by the shirt collar.
“He grabbed Sergeant Reino on his shirt collar and they started wrestling, they all fell down on the ground.”
Flai says officers handcuffed //Areseb to neutralise him before transporting him to Usakos Police Station, where he was detained for drunkenness and disorderly conduct.
However, four witnesses dispute that version of events and allege that //Areseb was assaulted after he had already been restrained.
One of those witnesses is //Areseb’s younger sister, Viollien Sau-He Uises, who says the family contacted police after believing their mother had been assaulted during a domestic dispute.
According to her statement, officers arrived shortly before midnight and threatened to shoot through the front door if //Areseb did not come outside.
“One of the three police officers threatened that he would shoot a gun bullet through the door if the plaintiff does not open,” Uises states.
She says that after //Areseb eventually opened the door, police forcibly removed him from the house. After briefly entering the house to collect clothes for her brother, she says she returned to find him lying on the ground in handcuffs.
“I then saw that the light in complexion police officer, who later came to be known to me as Willem Jantze, busy kicking the plaintiff on his buttocks,” she states.
Uises further alleges that officers ignored //Areseb’s complaints of stomach pain before loading him into the police vehicle.
“Two police officers picked the plaintiff up and threw him like a bag of maize meal into the back of the vehicle while still handcuffed.”
Another witness states that officers instructed //Areseb to put on his trousers while his hands were cuffed behind his back.
According to that statement, when he replied that he could not do so, an officer dressed in a brown police uniform accused him of being arrogant before slapping him until he fell to the ground.
//Areseb also alleges that the assault continued during the journey from Spitzkoppe to Usakos. In his court papers, he claims the police vehicle stopped along the road, where officers allegedly beat him with a police baton before continuing to the police station. The officers deny that any such assault occurred.
According to the court documents, //Areseb claims the alleged assault left him with cuts and bruises to both knees, abdominal injuries, and a tear to his small intestine.
He was later admitted to hospital in Usakos before being transferred to Katutura Hospital in Windhoek for further treatment.
The defendants dispute both the assault allegations and the extent of the injuries claimed by //Areseb.
The conflicting witness statements have not yet been tested in court, and no findings have been made on the allegations.
High Court Judge Beatrix de Jager is expected to hear the matter on 28 July, when witnesses will be called to testify and be cross-examined before the court determines the facts.
