About 12 inmates detained at the Gobabis Police Station holding cells were allegedly assaulted by police officers on Sunday after raising concerns about overcrowding, poor hygiene and access to medical care.
Pictures seen by The Namibian show some of the alleged victims with swollen lips and eyes, marks on their backs and injuries to their heads.
Inmates allegedly only asked about the conditions of the cells and why officers do not allow them to make phone calls, community activist Jeraldo Eiseb says.
Eiseb says three inmates were badly injured during the alleged assaults and remain in police cells.
He says the inmates’ concerns about overcrowding and poor hygiene were legitimate and should have been addressed through proper channels rather than violence.
“Their complaints were valid. The police should not have beaten them, but provided a solution,” he says.
Gobabis resident Nadia Tjitura says her brother is one of the inmates alleged to have been assaulted and injured.
Her brother, Dawid Tjitura (25), was arrested in June for domestic violence.
Tjitura says Dawid has a condition affecting his testicles and has been complaining about it for almost a month.
However, he was never taken to receive medical attention, she says.
She says the inmates remain in police custody even after being beaten and injured.
“It’s been almost a month that he has been complaining about it now.
I went to the hospital yesterday to see him there, but they were not taken to the hospital,” she says.
Tjitura says she is concerned that the inmates’ injuries could worsen if they do not receive medical attention.
“The cells are overcrowded, but now they beat them and still keep them in that place,” she says.
She says her brother told her that more than 12 inmates were assaulted and harassed at the police station.
She calls on the police to ensure the injured inmates receive medical attention before their conditions worsen.
Questions sent to the Omaheke regional commander Heinrich Tjiveze on Tuesday were not answered at the time of going to print.
