Warfare! Top cops on collision course

Allegations and counter-allegations of working in cahoots with criminals, collusion with a view to undermining State security and intelligence traps to get senior cops shot have erupted between the Namibian Police and the Windhoek City Police.

The matter, as Namibian Sun can exclusively reveal, is so serious that lawyers representing City Police Chief Abraham Kanime have demanded a written explanation from the Inspector General of the Namibian Police (Nampol), Sebastian Ndeitunga.

This followed a heated meeting on January 24, in which Ndeitunga read the riot act to officers of both Nampol and the City Police who he said lacked trust in each other and there was a lack of cooperation between them.

The meeting was held to introduce the new Khomas Regional Commander, Festus Shilongo, but ended in a finger-pointing exercise after an irate Ndeitunga accused the City Police of displaying a superiority complex over Nampol, amongst an avalanche of other accusations.

The alleged lack of co-operation between City Police and Nampol, minutes of that meeting show, was the main reason why former Khomas Police Regional Commander Commissioner Samuel //Hoebeb and his deputy Andreas Shilongo were transferred away from Khomas.

But is allegations of police intelligence traps that caught the attention of many and Kanime’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, raised the issue in a letter he wrote to Ndeitunga in February.

The letter, dated February 15, castigated Ndeitunga on a variety of allegations and stated astonishingly that: “You (Ndeitunga) further made a statement that you are aware that members of the City Police Crime Intelligence section tried to trap you in Katutura.”

The letter further reads: “Your statements, in the context in which they were made, are suggestive that our client worked against the security of the State.”

Ndeitunga also alleged in that meeting that unnamed police officials were in the habit of ’running to politicians’ to report or gossip about others. He allegedly also accused the City Police’s Senior Superintendent Gerry Shikesho of being the main culprit at “fuelling divisions between the two police teams”.

Ndeitunga only responded to Namandje’s letter on April 4, when he confirmed convening the February 24 meeting to introduce the new police regional chief.

“During this meeting,” Ndeitunga writes, “I as the Inspector-General of the Namibian Police Force, mandated with the overall responsibility of maintaining internal security in the Republic of Namibia, informed both the new regional commander and the Chief of City Police that they should work together for the purpose of ensuring safety and security in the City of Windhoek.”

Ndeitunga added that during that meeting, he alluded to past allegations that Nampol and the City Police were not collaborating sufficiently in making the capital City a safe haven.

“My statements during the meeting were fair and balanced as they were directed at both Nampol and City Police members,” he claimed.

The State police chief confirmed that he raised the issue of senior cops running to politicians, but denied that he was referring to politicians.

“Your client (Kanime) knows very well that he brought it to my attention that he suspected the former Regional Commander (//Hoebeb) to have either complained or reported him to the current Regional Governor of the Khomas Region (Samuel Nuuyoma),” Ndeitunga further wrote.