Amushelelo’s tangled tale with the law

…lawyer cautions NamPol not to be used for personal fights

• BY Erasmus Shalihaxwe

KADHILA Amoomo, the legal representative of Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters Economic Commissar, Michael Amushelelo says the Namibian Police Force should not be “weaponised” and used to fight personal battles against individuals because when they get sued it’s the tax payers that are going to feel the pitch.

Amoomo made these remarks on Wednesday after the release of Amushelelo from police custody, following an arrest that was made while Amushelelo was protesting in solidarity with employees of Craft Bistro who were demonstrating against alleged unfair treatment by their employer.

Amoomo said the Namibian Police Force is developing a tendency of resorting to brutality in almost every arrest they make and when people retaliate and sue the police it is the Namibian government that pays for civil case using tax payers’ money.

“Police brutality appears to accompany almost all arrests and it very worrisome.

We encounter police brutality in almost all cases we come across, but you can see in most cases that arrest should have been the last resort to contain the situation when it became uncontrollable.

When the police is sued for their brutality, government uses tax payers’ money to settle those civil cases,” said Amoomo.

He further stated that he was going to pursue the case and file for a civil case against the police for manhandling his client.

“We are urging the Namibian police not be used to fight personal fights against individuals for political reasons, the police should not be weaponised. We urge the Inspector General to consider the facts carefully before charging our client.

We call upon everyone to remain calm and excise their minds. A labour dispute should not be transformed into criminal proceedings,” cautioned Amoomo.

While speaking to Confidente on Thursday, Amushelelo said judging from all previous encounters and his comment about the boss, the law enforcement agencies are trying everything they can to silence him.

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