Black September: a glance at Windhoek’s seamy underbelly

OBLIVIOUS to the four Police vehicles that have just pulled up next to the corrugated-iron structure, patrons stumble about, brown bottles and filled glasses in hand.

Until the proverbial balloon pops. Five Police officers – three dressed in brown camouflage uniforms, one in the traditional blue uniform and another in plain clothes – lead the way into the first shebeen to be visited on the night.Loud voices order customers to vacate the building in an orderly fashion while being searched for weapons.Eventually the volume of the jukebox booming out local hits is turned down.One man, who managed to get outside after being frisked, moves to a safe distance, turns around and spits a few choice words at the Police before stumbling off in the direction of muffled music.He would be frisked again, half an hour later, at the next shebeen targeted by the Police.I am on a raid in the early hours of Saturday morning – part of the Police’s ‘Operation Black September’, a campaign to crack down on crime in Windhoek and demonstrate the Police’s “zero-tolerance” policy.The operation started on August 3 and ends on September 30.Last weekend, Police invited the media to join them in patrolling the streets, “to show the nation what we’re up against”.Police have been severely criticsed by shebeen owners during the past year for allegedly “deliberately trying to keep the ordinary man from making a living”.Three months have passed since shebeen operators from across the country took to the streets to protest against their businesses being closed by the Police in accordance with the Liquor Act.The Act has since been amended to make it easier and quicker for shebeen owners to obtain liquor licences.The operation was to start at midnight on Friday, but given the need to brief the media on safety precautions and the distance travelled to get there, the first shebeen was visited closer to 01h00.The tendency for shebeens to cluster in close proximity to each other was comically highlighted as customers simply moved from under the arms of frisking officers to the next shebeen, where they had to go through the whole process again.One rarely feels sympathy for brutes who gate-crash parties to order, push and shove around party-goers, but as the night proceeded, it became obvious that this was the most effective way of getting things done in order to move on to the next scene.”We’re using officers from various divisions for this operation,” Police spokesperson Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu told The Namibian earlier that night.This, he said, was stretching the capacity of these divisions.While on the way to the next shebeen, the Police patrol had to make a quick detour after coming across an assault on a few young men in Katutura’s Ombili location.While some of the assailants got away, a lack of trust in the Police and the cycle of violent behaviour in Namibian society both became evident at this crime scene.Struggling to get up from where he had been bludgeoned with a pickaxe handle, grabbing hold of the corrugated-iron shack against which he had fallen, the most seriously hurt of the group of men refused to reveal the identity of his attackers.They would take care of the matter themselves, the men said.By 04h00, when the last shebeen had been visited, a number of shebeen operators and customers had been arrested for “obstructing the course of justice”, a few had tried to throw a punch at Police officers, and a number of snapshots had been taken of tipsy customers who wanted their picture taken with Police officers.But more importantly, a number of dangerous weapons had been confiscated from people under the influence of alcohol, including licensed and unlicensed firearms, knives and even hammers.”It’s good.People should see how we’re becoming a nation of drunkards,” one uniformed officer said when asked about the media coverage of the raids.Five Police officers – three dressed in brown camouflage uniforms, one in the traditional blue uniform and another in plain clothes – lead the way into the first shebeen to be visited on the night.Loud voices order customers to vacate the building in an orderly fashion while being searched for weapons.Eventually the volume of the jukebox booming out local hits is turned down.One man, who managed to get outside after being frisked, moves to a safe distance, turns around and spits a few choice words at the Police before stumbling off in the direction of muffled music.He would be frisked again, half an hour later, at the next shebeen targeted by the Police.I am on a raid in the early hours of Saturday morning – part of the Police’s ‘Operation Black September’, a campaign to crack down on crime in Windhoek and demonstrate the Police’s “zero-tolerance” policy.The operation started on August 3 and ends on September 30.Last weekend, Police invited the media to join them in patrolling the streets, “to show the nation what we’re up against”.Police have been severely criticsed by shebeen owners during the past year for allegedly “deliberately trying to keep the ordinary man from making a living”.Three months have passed since shebeen operators from across the country took to the streets to protest against their businesses being closed by the Police in accordance with the Liquor Act.The Act has since been amended to make it easier and quicker for shebeen owners to obtain liquor licences.The operation was to start at midnight on Friday, but given the need to brief the media on safety precautions and the distance travelled to get there, the first shebeen was visited closer to 01h00.The tendency for shebeens to cluster in close proximity to each other was comically highlighted as customers simply moved from under the arms of frisking officers to the next shebeen, where they had to go through the whole process again.One rarely feels sympathy for brutes who gate-crash parties to order, push and shove around party-goers, but as the night proceeded, it became obvious that this was the most effective way of getting things done in order to move on to the next scene.”We’re using officers from various divisions for this operation,” Police spokesperson Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu told The Namibian earlier that night.This, he said, was stretching the capacity of these divisions.While on the way to the next shebeen, the Police patrol had to make a quick detour after coming across an assault on a few young men in Katutura’s Ombili location.While some of the assailants got away, a lack of trust in the Police and the cycle of violent behaviour in Namibian society both became evident at this crime scene.Struggling to get up from where he had been bludgeoned with a pickaxe handle, grabbing hold of the corrugated-iron shack against which he had fallen, the most seriously hurt of the group of men refused to reveal the identity of his attackers.They would take care of the matter themselves, the men said.By 04h00, when the last shebeen had been visited, a number of shebeen operators and customers had been arrested for “obstructing the course of justice”, a few had tried to throw a punch at Police officers, and a number of snapshots had been taken of tipsy customers who wanted their picture taken with Police officers.But more importantly, a number of dangerous weapons had been confiscated from people under the influence of alcohol, including licensed and unlicensed firearms, knives and even hammers.”It’s good.People should see how we’re becoming a nation of drunkards,” one uniformed officer said when asked about the media coverage of the raids.