Rape And Murder Need Serious Intervention
WHAT is happening in the ‘’land of the brave’’ is totally unacceptable. The ministers of justice, safety and security and all the relevant organisations and agencies need to seriously address the nation on what they intend to do to tackle this problem. It is now getting out of hand and needs serious attention and intervention from the state organs as soon as possible.
In fact, parliamentarians should take these issues very seriously and come up with effective legislation to contain these heinous crimes against fellow citizens. What is currently happening should not be allowed to continue as it is beginning to spread a serious culture of fear and concern among the populace. All citizens are definitely affected by the malice that is being committed by a few rapists and murderers against vulnerable and innocent members of our society.
Namibians should not be at threat to walk freely in their own country. The aim was freedom in all its spheres which should be exercised without fear. Even the police are now advising citizens not to walk alone at night as it could endanger their lives. This was not supposed to be the case at all.
The rape and murder of innocent citizens is a clear violation of their respective human rights and should not be allowed to continue in a country that is striving to create a just and mutually conducive environment for all.
These despicable criminals are stealing and destroying the lives of our daughters and future mothers whilst inflicting untold emotional and psychological damages on the families of those harmed and directly affected in the process. Losing loved ones in an environment which was supposed to be safe and free can be extremely painful.
Incidences of the last couple of weeks (months and years) that are being perpetrated against fellow citizens warrant a national dialogue and intervention. Rapists and murderers are attacking at will the very moral, social and human fibre of this country and need to be taken to task by the law enforcement agencies to the fullest extent possible.
Some of these recent heinous rape and murder incidences require us to perceive these crimes as a deliberate message by these perpetrators to society that they do not fear the law and will commit these crimes under the cover of darkness without fear of being arrested.
To be a fair critic and concerned citizen, I would also like to propose the following solutions which I believe could significantly contribute to the combatting of these heinous crimes.
1) The government should recruit more police officers and equip them with the necessary high level detective skills to track down criminals. This skill is highly necessary as it seems that crimes of these nature and magnitude happen in situations/areas where there are no witnesses around. The skill acquired will certainly assist in solving such crimes and lead to the arrest of suspects at a much easier and faster rate.
2) The government should invest more resources into community policing and training. The investment I am referring to could be in the form of communication radios, vehicles, and light fire-arms or tools to assist the police in their efforts to eradicate/reduce crime.
3) Greater investment in street lights in all corners of the country (especially populated areas) to enable citizens’ ease of movement at night and in dark areas.
4) More patrols in river bed areas especially with the aim to sweep through them to rid them of criminals who wait to prey on potential victims.
5) The government and all relevant stakeholders should seriously find ways and means to reduce the unemployment situation in the country.
6) The private sector should assist the government and all relevant stakeholders on ways and means to combat crime.
7) Society should seriously start discussing the re-introduction of the death penalty as a last resort to combat these types of incidences.
Pendapala Hangala
Windhoek