Shoe gift lands soccer star in jail

A PAIR of shoes given to the captain of the Big Issue soccer team that recently took part in the Homeless World Cup in Sweden landed him in jail last Thursday as an alleged suspect in a housebreaking case.

Lesley Bamm, who was also the star player of the team that won third overall place in the tournament, was arrested for wearing a pair of suspect shoes that he allegedly stole during a house break-in in Windhoek North earlier that day. According to Bamm, the shoes were given to him by an Irish player at the tournament.Jurie Ramphaga, distribution manager of the Big Issue told The Namibian that he was present when Bamm was given the pair of shoes.The surprise arrest of Bamm evolved into a struggle as the two Police officers allegedly refused to tell him why he was taken into custody.In the process Bamm ended up punching one of the officers.The situation got out of hand when Jo Rogge, project director, was allegedly slapped by a Police officer when she tried to find out what was going… “One of the Policemen swore at me, assaulted me and told me it’s none of my business,” she said.Rogge said she wanted to charge the officer for assault.After the Police called for reinforcements, Bamm was eventually taken away and locked up for the night.Rogge was told she would be arrested for interfering with Police work.The next day the officers concerned approached Rogge with an offer to drop all the charges if she would not press ahead with her charge.Bamm also returned to the depot later in the day saying the housebreaking charge had been dropped.Police spokesperson Warrant Officer James Matengu told The Namibian on Tuesday that he was not aware of the case, as he did not have a report of the incident.Reacting to the charge that two of the officers were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, Matengu said:”that is terrible.”He said the public should immediately notify the Regional Commander, who was responsible for the officers, in such a case.According to Bamm, the shoes were given to him by an Irish player at the tournament.Jurie Ramphaga, distribution manager of the Big Issue told The Namibian that he was present when Bamm was given the pair of shoes.The surprise arrest of Bamm evolved into a struggle as the two Police officers allegedly refused to tell him why he was taken into custody.In the process Bamm ended up punching one of the officers.The situation got out of hand when Jo Rogge, project director, was allegedly slapped by a Police officer when she tried to find out what was going… “One of the Policemen swore at me, assaulted me and told me it’s none of my business,” she said.Rogge said she wanted to charge the officer for assault.After the Police called for reinforcements, Bamm was eventually taken away and locked up for the night.Rogge was told she would be arrested for interfering with Police work.The next day the officers concerned approached Rogge with an offer to drop all the charges if she would not press ahead with her charge.Bamm also returned to the depot later in the day saying the housebreaking charge had been dropped.Police spokesperson Warrant Officer James Matengu told The Namibian on Tuesday that he was not aware of the case, as he did not have a report of the incident.Reacting to the charge that two of the officers were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, Matengu said:”that is terrible.”He said the public should immediately notify the Regional Commander, who was responsible for the officers, in such a case.