Police officer guilty of corruption

A KARIBIB Police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to pay a fine of N$20 000 or spend five years behind bars on a charge of corruption.

It all happened in March 2010 when Sergeant Dawid Maronda (42) learned of a pending theft case against a German citizen, Martina Marbach, who was staying in Karibib at the time.Pretending to be the investigating officer in the matter, Maronda telephoned Marbach, informing her that she would not be able to return to her homeland with the pending theft case unless she paid him N$2 000. If she paid him, he would close the case against her. If she did not want to play along, he threatened to arrest her.She gave in to the threat, and the two agreed to meet in Omaruru at the Spar Supermarket, where she would pay him in cash. But she paid him only N$1 000, and promised to pay the rest at a later stage. Maronda met her dressed in full police uniform when he took the money.After the meeting, Marbach informed the local police and Maronda was arrested and charged under the Anti-Corruption Act.He was found guilty on Tuesday in the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court.