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Teacher sues police for N$500 000 after assault


A NORTHERN-BASED teacher has filed a N$500 000 lawsuit against the police, after he was allegedly attacked and assaulted by seven members of the police’s Special Reserve Force last year.

In documents filed at the Oshakati High Court, Festus Shitumba says he was attacked on 4 March last year near Engoyi village, in the Oshikoto region.

Shitumba claims members of the Special Reserve Force intercepted him for no reason along the Ondangwa-Onankali road.

He says he was ordered to stop his vehicle.

Officers aggressively approached him, removed him from his vehicle, interrogated him and accused him of being drunk, he claims. Shitumba denies he was drunk.

Shitumba claims that during the alleged attack the police pepper-sprayed his eyes, punched him in the face and kicked him all over his body with their boots.

As a result of the assault, he sustained physical injuries, including a swollen eye, Shitumba says.

“The assault was unjustifiable, nor did I act unruly towards the Special Reserve Force members,” he says in his claim against the police.

The Namibian Police have filed a notice, in which they state that they will defend the matter.

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi says 248 civil cases have been opened against the police since 2020.

The cases range from assault, to the illegal detention of members of the public, she says.

Former police inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga has in the past often urged police officers to conduct themselves professionally when dealing with members of the public.

At the time Shikwambi says, Ndeitunga urged all law enforcers to refrain from using unnecessary force and violence during any operation.

“Minimum or maximum force must only be applied if and when necessary,” she says.

She says alleged misconduct by law-enforcement officers during operations continues to be investigated.

“The results indicate many of these claims are unfounded and fabricated,” Shikwambi says.

“There seems to be a tendency among members of the public to deliberately confront law enforcers, so that they can open cases and subsequent lawsuits,” she says.





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