City Police crack down on squatters

THE City of Windhoek’s renewed clearance of illegal shacks came under fire from residents of the Havana informal settlement this weekend, after one woman claimed the Police’s actions resulted in thieves stealing her property.

Kahungirire Hikuama says she moved into the Havana Extension Six area about three months ago because she had nowhere else to go.But her peace of mind was disturbed on Saturday afternoon when the City Police tore down part of her corrugated-iron shack and took some of the sheets with them.Hikuama and her neighbours now claim that thieves ransacked her property while nobody was there to guard it.’We were at a community meeting nearby when the Police came, and when she saw what they had done, she was running after them to find out what was going on. It must have been during that time that somebody went through her things,’ said Ruben Kamutuezu, a neighbour and chairperson of the Havana Matuiipi Community Group. The 25-year-old woman claims that she lost money that was stored in a purse, as well as a new lamp that was stolen from its box, among other items.She was also upset over clothing and bedding items that had apparently been thrown on the ground as a result of the Police’s actions.’Last night (Saturday) I had to sleep like this, in the open. What do they think of me? I am a single woman living here on my own. Do they not think about the rapists and robbers out here,’ a teary-eyed Hikuama told The Namibian.According to City policy, the owners of these illegal shacks are issued at least 48 hours’ notice of demolition.Once the structures have been torn down, the owners have to report to the municipality’s offices to get back the confiscated building materials.Officers spoken to over the weekend said although provision is made for fines to be issued to illegal squatters, the City is not yet applying the policy strictly. The City Police on Sunday refuted Hikuama’s claims that she had been living in the area for three months, saying she had completed her shack earlier in the week.’Those sheets were still lying flat on the ground on Tuesday, and we went to her to tell her not to do it, shook hands and everything. But when we got here yesterday, we saw she had completed the structure,’ one officer said.’We know people are hungry for land. Even you and me, we need land. But we cannot do it illegally like this,’ he said.The municipality held a meeting with the community on April 25 this year, before starting to tear down shacks.’At that meeting, community members were asked to be patient. This area is not suitable for human habitation. We must first put up ablution facilities and get water supplied to the area,’ the City Police said.They added that the municipality has decided to be lenient with existing squatters, and rather focuses on preventing new shacks from being erected.Many of the squatters spoken to over the weekend are young Namibians who say they moved to the area out of necessity, with hopes of making a life for themselves.Many moved there from other parts of Windhoek, although others, like 28-year-old Erenfrieda Mborero, came from communal areas and homesteads across the country.Mborero, who started working work at a local supermarket this month, has been living in Windhoek since January.Police spotted and marked her shack with spray paint on Sunday, meaning that they will tear it down later this week unless she removes it herself.’I don’t know where I would go if that happens. I don’t have family or people I could ask to live with in Windhoek,’ she told The Namibian. denver@namibian.com.na