Banner Left

Repeated escapes from Kongola police cells raise serious concerns

The Kongola settlement in the Zambezi region have expressed concerns about detainees constantly escaping from the Menias Brian Libuto police holding cells.

These escapes, they say, have social and economic consequences on the settlement, as residents now live in fear, and could be a threat to the tourism sector.

Group leader Glenn Shebo in a media statement on Wednesday said when it opened in 2014, the Kongola police station recorded four different escapes on different occasions by trail-awaiting inmates who escaped after they overpowered police officers on duty.

This was followed by another incident on 10 November 2019 when 12 detainees again overpowered police officers on duty and escaped. Only three were re-arrested.

“On 27 May 2022, one trial-awaiting prisoner ran away after he tricked the police officers that he was going to collect a blanket outside,” Shebo said.

In December 2024, about 13 inmates escaped at the same police holding cells on 9 December 2024. Four have been re-arrested, bringing the total number of escapees to 30 since 2014.

These incidents, Shebo said, risk the lives of police officers and that of community members.

“All these escapees are a danger to society, we feel our society and the people of Kongola are no longer safe due to these escapes and we fear that it is only a matter of time before a life is lost,” he said.

The community has appealed for an architectural review of the holding cells to prevent the issue from re-occurring.

“Kongola is a tourism hub and most of our people survive by being employed at lodges and campsites. Without tourists, workers might be retrenched, and the community might lose income,” they say.

Contacted for comment on the matter, Zambezi regional commander commissioner Andreas Shilelo says the concerns raised by the community are genuine and relevant, saying the escapes are a result of negligence by officers on duty in most cases.

“It is not an issue of manpower at Kongola. All these cases have been classified as negligence of duty by our members and cases were opened against those officers, in line with regulation 15 of the police force,” he says.
Shilelo says another contributing factor is that the holding cells of Kongola are not attached to the police charge office, as is the case with other holding cells in the country.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News