“Every year, universities train young people in policing and criminal justice, and thousands more apply to join NamPol. Yet the specialised posts open to graduates remain very few”.
Mandume Gabriel
Every year, institutions such as NUST and STADIO send out young men and women trained in criminal justice, police science, legal studies and cyber security.
Many have one wish: to serve the public through the police.
But when they look at the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) adverts, the door for them is very narrow. This is not an attack on the police.
It is a call to reform a vital institution so that it uses the knowledge of people Namibia has already educated.
Interest in policing is huge.
For 2024/2025, 52 972 young people applied for 2 000 posts. Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi confirmed: “The overall recruitment figure was 2 000, which includes a special recruitment category.”
Graduates, however, compete for a small number of specialised places. The 2025/2026 advert offered 150 posts for Criminal Justice in Policing graduates and 50 for Cyber Security.
According to published vacancy notices, the advert that closed on 13 May 2026 listed just 40 posts for legal studies or policing related qualifications.
The police are recruiting, but the posts that match graduate skills are few.
Look at what these graduates have already done. Students study criminal law, the law of evidence, criminal procedure, investigation methods and police ethics.
Many programmes include practical investigation work, and many graduates have spent time at police stations and units, seeing how complaints are received and how dockets are opened.
Cyber security graduates know how digital evidence is found and protected. Legal studies graduates know how a case must be built to stand up in court.
What is left to teach them? In my view, mainly what only a police college can give: handling a firearm safely and lawfully, police discipline, drill and fitness, and the force’s own procedures.
NamPol’s cadet training runs for nine months, six of basic training and three of work integrated learning.
A graduate who already knows the law and investigation could take a shorter, focused course and be ready to serve.
That saves public money and puts trained people to work sooner.
The need is clear. In 2022, then Inspector General Joseph Shikongo said NamPol had dropped from more than 17 000 members in 2016 to just over 10 000, because of high turnover and no replacements.
In Kavango East, New Era reported 665 officers against an approved structure of 3 038.
The regional investigations coordinator, Bonifatius Kanyetu, said the standard is 50 dockets per investigator, yet there is “no investigator who has less than 250 dockets.”
A docket is a case file, and behind each one is a victim waiting for justice. Graduates who understand investigation can ease that load.
Reform need not be complicated. NamPol should recruit according to need, on a predictable calendar. It should create a graduate entry route with a fast track, a clear rank and a salary path.
England and Wales have required degree level education for new officers since 2020, with a route for people who already hold a degree.
NamPol should build specialist careers for investigators, cybercrime and financial crime officers, and gender based violence and child protection units. It should keep selection open and fair.
And it should use partnerships, such as internships and a graduate reserve programme with universities, building on its existing use of reservists and crime prevention groups.
“The police are the public and the public are the police.”
This principle, often linked to Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing, sits at the heart of community policing.
Graduates from Oshana, Omusati, Kavango, Zambezi, Khomas and every other region speak local languages and know local problems. Recruiting them builds trust between citizens and the police.
Some will say the state has limited money. That is true, and graduates alone cannot fix the force. Vehicles, equipment and stations matter too.
But training graduates and leaving their skills unused is also a cost, paid in unsolved cases and lost confidence.
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Namibia has already invested in that weapon.
The police are one of the most important institutions in the country, and they must be taken seriously. Namibia does not lack people ready to serve. It lacks a system that is ready to receive them.
*Mandume Gabriel is a youth leader, graduate and scholar.
