Commanding officer appears in court

THE Commanding Officer of the Police’s Finance Division made his first appearance in the dock of the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Commissioner Joseph Kamati is the second high-ranking Police officer to be charged with stealing from the Police in less than a week. Commissioner Lotti Nelomba Uusiku, Commanding Officer of the Police’s Special Branch, appeared in court in connection with the same case on Thursday.Like Uusiku, Kamati was granted bail of N$2 000, and was ordered by Magistrate Sarel Jacobs to return to court on August 1.By yesterday afternoon, the Police’s public relations division could still not reveal details on why the two men were being charged with theft.All they did was to repeat last week’s statement that the information handed to them was “sketchy”.However, it appears that the two men are accused of “theft by deficiency”.They are allegedly responsible for the disappearance of an unspecified amount of money that was supposed to be paid over to the State Treasury.This money is alleged to include subsistence and travel allowances (S&T) as well as informants’ rewards and bail money.The two men are still reporting for duty each day as normal, with Kamati appearing in court today as a witness in a criminal trial.Early last month, the Police were bailed out of a financial crisis when Prime Minister Nahas Angula ordered the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication through the Government Garage to take over the Police’s fuel bill.The Government Garage was instructed to order more than N$3,3 million worth of fuel and oil for the Police to keep the force’s vehicles running until the end of April, when the national Budget is expected to be finalised.Commissioner Lotti Nelomba Uusiku, Commanding Officer of the Police’s Special Branch, appeared in court in connection with the same case on Thursday.Like Uusiku, Kamati was granted bail of N$2 000, and was ordered by Magistrate Sarel Jacobs to return to court on August 1.By yesterday afternoon, the Police’s public relations division could still not reveal details on why the two men were being charged with theft.All they did was to repeat last week’s statement that the information handed to them was “sketchy”.However, it appears that the two men are accused of “theft by deficiency”.They are allegedly responsible for the disappearance of an unspecified amount of money that was supposed to be paid over to the State Treasury. This money is alleged to include subsistence and travel allowances (S&T) as well as informants’ rewards and bail money. The two men are still reporting for duty each day as normal, with Kamati appearing in court today as a witness in a criminal trial.Early last month, the Police were bailed out of a financial crisis when Prime Minister Nahas Angula ordered the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication through the Government Garage to take over the Police’s fuel bill.The Government Garage was instructed to order more than N$3,3 million worth of fuel and oil for the Police to keep the force’s vehicles running until the end of April, when the national Budget is expected to be finalised.