Off-duty officer shoots man dead

Ndanki Kahiurika

The police officer, a constable in the force handed himself over to Katutura Police and is expected to appear in the Windhoek Magistrate Court in Katutura today.

The cold-blooded shooting had the Shandumbala community up in arms and demanding swift justice.

Although the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting were not clear by yesterday, police said the officer shot Martin in self-defence after the deceased had tried to hit him with a bottle.

According to Police’s spokesperson Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi, the officer who was driving along Tuin Street came across Martin and a group of friends who were walking in the middle of the street and requested them to get off the road.

Shikwambi said the request culminated into an argument during which Martin, whom she said was apparently drunk, attempted to hit the police officer with a bottle.

The officer then used his private pistol to shoot Martin in the chest just a few metres from his home, Shikwambi said.

Martin’s mother Johanna Nikanor, however, denied that her son was drunk saying that he was coming from work. She also denied that Martin had a bottle with him.

Nikanor, who said she had not eaten anything since her son’s death, described him as “kind” and “lovely”.

Martin was the fourth of seven siblings and was reportedly working at a construction project for the National Youth Council (NYC).

The deceased’s uncle, Joel Ugulu, said witnesses told him that the suspect stopped the vehicle and stormed out amid shouts by a female companion not to shoot Martin.

Martin’s acquaintances who spoke to The Namibian yesterday said they were shocked by the shooting of someone they grew up with and whom they did not know as a violent person.

Tuin Street residents where Martin lived and met his death accused the police of turning against the citizens whom they kill without even firing a warning shot.

For them, Joel Martin’s death was another sign that their lives were no longer guaranteed safety at the hands of allegedly trigger-happy police officers.

Chief Inspector Shikwambi, however, said the police officer ought to have known better.

“Our code of conduct requires us to respect human life,” she said but added that the investigations into the shooting continue.

Police has recently been accused of brutality with several cases reported in which members are accused of using force to solve issues. In most instances suspects have been shot in “self-defence” or brutally attacked as they tried to force information out of them.

Some such cases have led to deaths.