Uis residents allege police brutality

Residents of Uis, in Namibia’s Erongo region, have raised serious allegations of police brutality following recent arrests linked to ongoing disputes over illegal mining activities and traditional leadership.

This comes after allegations that the community petrol bombed the house of Dâure Daman chief Sagarias Seibeb (68) last week.

The Namibian has been informed that the aggrieved community has raised the issues with the inspector general’s office.

Andrew John-Kelly (48), one of the arrested community members, alleges that he was beaten and kicked at the police holding cells.
He was later transferred to Omaruru hospital for emergency treatment.

“I was kicked all over my body by the police, hit with the gun and beaten on the back and even on my private parts,” he says.

According to John-Kelly, the incident occured after the police lured community members to the traditional authority offices.

“The community has been guarding the offices because for four years it was not operational. However, when the police came, they told us we can enter the building, but then they locked me and other elderly people inside and arrested us,” he says.

John-Kelly is not the only victim.

According to some witnesses, a 71-year-old man was allegedly beaten by the police in a van.
Community member McDonald Gaweseb (24) says the police tricked the residents into the offices so they could lock them up.

“It is painful what they did to us. They trapped and misled us into going into those offices so that they could arrest us,” he says.

This comes after concerns the Uis community has been raising over illegal mining at the settlement and claims that traditional authority leaders are allegedly benefiting from deals made with Chinese nationals involving the area’s natural resources, while the community is languishing in poverty.

The community has also been alleging that some of their ancestral graves were removed to accommodate mining companies.
According to Gaweseb, allegations of the chief’s house being petrol bombed are false.

“I was also beaten up with a gun to the head, and until today my head is still in pain. Allegations that we bombed the chief’s house are not true,” he says.

Meanwhile, the police have denied the allegations.

In an interview with The Namibian last week, Erongo police commander commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona denied reports that violence erupted in the process of removing protestors.

“It must be made very clear: the police did not assault any person, old or young. Those who claim they were assaulted or those who carry the reports that the police assaulted people must produce the proof,” he said.

Kupembona said the incident saw several people arrested, including community activist Jimmy //Areseb and a pensioner.

Parts of the building have been damaged by the fire, but the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.

The suspects, aged 29, 37, 47 and 71, are facing charges of arson, contravening the Explosives Act, the possession and supply of explosives, and violating bail conditions.

Kupembona, however, said only one person has been charged over the petrol bombing and will appear in the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court, while those that were not involved have been released.

The suspect reportedly used beer bottles filled with petrol and cloth to create firebombs, which were allegedly thrown onto the roof and into Seibeb’s home.

Dâure Daman Traditional Authority spokesperson Martin Matsuib says the dispute has been ongoing for some time.

“The group that did this called themselves the ‘concerned group’, and for a while they have been spreading fake news about the traditional authority.

“They have been wanting to depose of the chief since 2014,” he says.

“We do not fire chiefs. We only gazette the chiefs on recommendation of the community and the customary laws of the traditional authorities,” he adds.