The Namibian Police could now be facing a damages claim over the treatment that Elikana Grun Nghimwena (32), who is a businessman in northern Namibia, received at the hands of Police officers involved in the interrogation.

Nghimwena was arrested on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances on January 12.

He told The Namibian after his release on Friday that he would be suing the Police for mistreating him while in custody.

Nghimwena claimed he was handcuffed so tightly that he still has marks on his wrists more than a week later, that he was cuffed in contorted physical postures, such as having one hand over his shoulder cuffed to his other hand behind his back, that he was beaten with a short but thick stick to the point that he lost consciousness a few times while he was being interrogated, and that one officer placed a plastic bag over his head while he was being questioned.

Magistrate Peter Kavaongelwa granted bail to Nghimwena on Friday with the agreement of the State, represented by Public Prosecutor Helmut Stolze.

Nghimwena's release came with the added conditions that he had to hand all his travel documents to the Police, that he may not apply for new travel documents, and that he may not interfere with the Police investigation of the case.

He also has to report to the Oshakati Police station each Monday, Wednesday and Friday and may not leave the Oshakati and Ondangwa districts without permission from the Oshakati Police station commander.

Nghimwena claimed he had been arrested because a family friend of his, Jason Awene, who is wanted in connection with the robbery, had been seen in his company on the Sunday before his arrest.

According to the Police, they have established that Awene, alias Kilingi, left Namibia by way of the Trans-Kalahari highway on January 10.

He may have gone to South Africa, where some of the money stolen in the robbery has apparently been recovered.

The Police have announced that N$3,363 million of the stolen money had been recovered.

The robbery took place in the Brakwater area on December 29, when a cash-in-transit vehicle of Fidelity Services Group Namibia, which was transporting cash to the coast, was targeted by a gang of armed robbers.

The driver of the vehicle, Jan Johannes Julius (33) was the first person to be arrested in connection with the heist.

He had allegedly stopped to pick up a hitch-hiker, who then took out a firearm and ordered the driver to pull off the road.

Julius remains in custody.

He, Nghimwena and two co-accused also remaining in custody, George Jambeinge (33) and Benedictus Johannes Kasimbinge (42), have to appear in court again on February 9.

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