Thursday, 03 September 2009
THE Windhoek City Police has been running a secret cell where they torture suspects before handing them over to the Windhoek Central Police Station.
Early this week on Tuesday Informanté witnessed two City Police officers taking turns to beat up a defenceless drunken man detained in a makeshift “holding cell” at the City Police offices in town.
The man was said to have been picked up earlier by the City Police from the road where he was sleeping.
The hopeless man who looked like a vagrant was sleeping on the floor when the two officers started beating him up while he remained seated since he appeared too drunk to evade their blows and kicks.
However, when contacted for comment City Police Public Relations and Community Policing spokesperson, Marx Hipandwa, denied that the man was beaten up at their offices arguing that he was beaten up because he was refusing to move from the road.
Hipandwa, however, was quick to point out that they did not have the right to beat up anyone except in cases where a suspect is trying to harm them.
“According to our policy we do not have the right to beat anyone up unless in cases where we feel we have to defend ourselves. We just don’t beat up people at random. We will make an internal investigation to find out what really transpired there,” Hipandwa said.
Ombudsman John Walters confirmed to Informanté that his office had received complaints of illegal detentions at the City Police offices in town.
“My office is investigating cases of illegal detentions in conditions not prescribed for human beings by City Police. People are complaining that the “cell” they are being held in does not even have a toilet.
“My office is also investigating whether City Police has the power to detain anyone. I am busy with that case and I will take it up with City Police” he said.
Legal Assistance Centre Director Norman Tjombe said over the past few months there has been a surge in the number of cases of brutality committed on ordinary citizens by the City Police.
Tjombe said they were several law suits pending against the City Police.
“It appears that the respect for the rights of suspects is not a consideration by the City Police. There are several law suits pending against the City Police, where they have shot at people in the street-in one case resulting in the amputation of the person’s leg, and his “crime”: walking around in the streets of Windhoek looking for a job.
“We are aware of at least one case where the City Police shot at a suspect where it was reported that the gunshot wounds indicated that the bullets entered from behind indicating that the suspect was running away, thus possibly not presenting an imminent danger to the police or other members of the public,” Tjombe said.
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