Three arrested for extortion at Outjo

AN alleged extortion attempt against the embattled treasurer of the Outjo Municipality, Da
wid Koen, has landed three suspects behind bars.
Koen is charged with setting the Outjo Municipality’s offices on fire on August 17.

The Namibian Police arrested the three suspects at Outjo on Wednesday, after they allegedly tried to extort money from Koen with an offer that they could make the arson case disappear if they were paid a large sum of cash.Koen informed the Police of the alleged extortion attempt.The suspects are expected to appear in court today.A Namibian Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Kauna Shikwambi, said yesterday that an unknown person allegedly phoned Koen on October 29 and told him that the case against him could be made to go away if Koen paid him.Koen was released on bail of N$30 000 on October 20, nine weeks after he had been arrested on a charge of arson in connection with the fire that destroyed the town’s municipal offices.The person who phoned Koen claimed he was employed in the Ministry of Justice. He asked for a payment of N$50 000 from Koen, Shikwambi said.Koen ignored the offer, but on Wednesday a man arrived at his house at Outjo to discuss the proposal again, Shikwambi said.Koen called the Police, and while he was sitting in a vehicle with the suspects, ostensibly discussing the offer, the Police pounced on them and arrested the three suspects.The suspects are alleged to have had a document on a letterhead of the Office of the Prosecutor General in their possession.They were arrested on charges of obstruction of justice, extortion, fraud and forgery and uttering.