Martin Endjala and Ester Mbathera
A police officer has been arrested in connection with a recruitment scam and is set to appear in court on 8 October.
This was confirmed by Nampol’s national spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, on Wednesday.
“Thus far, only one officer was arrested. The investigation is still ongoing. His next court date is 08 October 2024. The case was postponed for further investigations,” she disclosed.
The Windhoek Observer has established that the officer has been in police custody for the past three weeks in the cells of the Seeis police station.
Fillipus Meleksedek exposed the issue when he posted a video on his social media platform, alleging that the police recruitment process tampered with his blood samples.
Meleksedek, who was confident in his ability to pass both the fitness and blood tests, was shocked to find his name missing from the final list of recruits.
“I know I was the best, even if I wasn’t first. In everything we did, including the written test and physical check-up, I am sure I performed well,” Meleksedek stated.
Determined to uncover the truth, he visited the police headquarters to enquire about his exclusion.
A nurse led him to an office after a series of interactions and informed him that his disqualification was due to the results of his blood test.
“My whole life, I have always taken care of my health. I don’t let time pass without getting tested for everything. My health record is with NIP. These people should have noticed that I test for everything,” Meleksedek explained.
The nurse informed him that while he was clear of HIV, glucose issues, and other common health concerns, he had tested positive for Hepatitis B.
Meleksedek questioned the accuracy of the results, asserting that he had no prior knowledge of having Hepatitis B.
“I know where I stand. The nurse explained that hepatitis can be contracted through different ways, including sex,” he said.
Several other recruits who did not make it also added their voices.
“I hit a record of 40 seconds in shuttle runs, unlimited pushups, squat kicks, and pushups 86. Those people shifted my name. They are good at lying,” Toivo Kandenge said.
“There is something wrong in how they test for hepatitis because the same thing happened to me. Where I was referred to get an injection, but when I went to a private doctor to retest it, it came out unreactive. So they need to do something on how they test hepatitis for real, but mine was an NDF recruit,” Maria Natanael.
Shikwambi warned the public and unsuccessful candidates from the recent police recruitment to be vigilant as scammers may try to deceive them with special recruitment.
“The public is advised to remain vigilant and avoid making payments to individuals claiming to secure recruitment in the police,” she said.
She said the police training intake for 2024/2025 started on 5 August, and no further admissions will be considered.
She urged the public to report any incidents related to the subject matter, amongst others.
Shikwambi could, however, not confirm if the matter of recruitment corruption has been brought to the attention of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Questions sent to ACC to establish whether they received any reports on the matter proved futile at the time of publication.
