Officer on revenge rampage William J. Mbangula Thursday, April 3, 2014 - 08:00 A bar lady at Ongha settlement in Ohanagwena Region is fearing for her life after a police officer threatened her with a firearm and vowed to take unspecified action against her. The commotion follows an incident at JSHN Bar, also known as Aupa Bar, on 27 July2012 when the police officer was suspected of theft involving N$6 012 from the drinking hole. According to the bar lady, the police officer with the rank of sergeant was a regular patron at the bar. Shortly before closing time, she packed the money in a plastic bag and hid it somewhere while she was stacking the chairs and tables. When she later realized that the plastic bag was removed, she confronted the police officer and insisted that he should be searched, since he is the only one who was in the bar at the time of its disappearance. “I called other people to help me search him. While we were struggling to search him, a N$100 dropped from his underwear and upon seeing this, the police officer slapped me, pushed me away, drew his service pistol and fired several rounds into the ground. We ran away with him following us, but he returned to the bar and threw the plastic bag in an open space inside the bar. When the police arrived, they found the money scattered all over the bar, minus NS100 which dropped from his underwear,” she said. The police officer in question (name known) arrived on 5 March 2013 with his colleagues and arrested the bar lady under the pretext of operating after hours. She was jailed at Ohangwena Police Station and released on bail of NS500. Her case was last heard on 25 March 2014, but postponed to 7 July 2014 for further investigation and trial. The bar lady told Informanté that she has relocated to another place, since the police officer in question vowed to harm her. Regarding the case of theft and pointing of a firearm, she said it seems there is a cover-up since the police officer was never charged even though a case was opened against him. Approached for comment, the police officer in question denied any knowledge of the allegations against him.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000