Otjiwarongo pupils allegedly assaulted by police in shocking Karundu Junior Secondary incident

Parents at Otjiwarongo were left in shock after nine police officers, dressed in various police uniforms, allegedly assaulted 31 pupils from Karundu Junior Secondary School on Monday.

The incident reportedly occurred outside Otjiwarongo on the way to Otavi, following a reported cellphone theft.

The boys involved are aged 15 and 16.

Three of the boys are said to be seriously injured. One reportedly sustained a fractured skull, two suffered broken ribs, and another sustained an injury to his ear.

Otjozondjupa regional commander Philip Hidengwa has confirmed the incident, adding that investigations are ongoing.

He, however, says he is only aware of one complaint of assault by the police officers.

“The report that they are 31 [boys] has not been brought to me yet. But we know of the allegation against the police officers and our internal investigations unit is investigating the case,” says Hidengwa.

The police came to the school investigating an alleged cellphone stolen the previous Friday at soccer practice.

Karundu Junior Secondary School principal Jeanette Murorua confirms that the police came to the school and asked for the boys who were at the practice

Murorua says she insisted the police take only the boys who were implicated but that the officers said it would be a waste of time driving back and forth to fetch others, should they not receive relevant information.

“When I saw the group that the police requested to take for interrogation, I told the police these are not troublesome children. Not one of them was ever in my office for mischief,” she says.

“But because they were officers in police uniform, I did not want to obstruct the course of justice so I released all 31 boys.

“I never thought something like this would happen.

But when the boys came back, they asked me if it was right for police officers to assault them.

Then I saw the bruises and how dirty, emotional, and disturbed they were and I sent them home,” Murorua says.

Winsen //Naobeb, one of the assaulted boys, says they were in class writing a test on Monday when they were informed that the police were looking for them.

//Naobeb says they were released from the classroom for the police to question them about the missing cellphone.

“All of us said we are not aware of a cellphone that is missing or where it was.

The police asked us ‘are we going to do this the easy way, and you just tell us, or the hard way’.

But we didn’t know and we said so,” //Naobeb says.

He says the police then loaded them up into two vans and a kombi. He says they first drove in the direction of Windhoek and then turned around to drive towards Otavi.

“They told us to kneel on the ground and started beating us in our ribs with sticks from the trees in the area.

Then they beat us with their fists and later kicked us with their safety boots.

“When they finished beating us they told us to clean the blood and the dirt on us so we don’t appear like we were beaten.

Then they took us back to school. When we told the principal what happened to us, she said we should go home and tell our parents,” //Naobeb says.
His mother, Charlotte //Naobes, says her son was kicked in the ribs, bladder and ear.

“Right now my child has no hearing in his right ear and it is still bleeding.

He can not bend as he says his bladder is painful and that he is struggling to urinate.”

Charlotte says from what she understands, the boy who filed the complaint about the cellphone gave the police the names of the four of boys he suspected.

“If the names were in the report, why was it necessary for the police to ask for the whole soccer team that was on the field and hurt them like this?”

She says when the parents went to the police station to lay charges, they were told that the boys should come in groups of five to 10, accompanied by their parents.

They were also informed that only one case would be opened under a single CR number, with all statements filed under that case.

“To make matters worse the police should have opened a case of theft against the boys, but no, they just beat them and took them back to school. So have they taken the law now into their own hands and administered justice?” Charlotte asks.

Filomina !Garas says she wants the police to be prosecuted.

Her, son Immanuel !Garab (16), is suspected to have sustained two broken ribs during the alleged assault.

“We are awaiting for the second set of X-rays to confirm.

One broken rib could be seen clearly but the doctors suspect there is one more,” she says.

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