Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Namibian authorities say police and military firearms are now tightly controlled, following past incidents of missing weapons and concerns over smuggling to neighbouring countries.
This comes as the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said Namibian firearms have been smuggled into South Africa and used by gangs.
In November 2021, the police reported that 96 firearms, mainly AK47 rifles, were missing from the central depot in Windhoek. After a verification process, the number was revised to 83.
A criminal case led to the arrest of six police officers and two civilians. All six officers were working for the Namibian Police Force at the time.
“So far, the weapons referred to are AK47s. I can confirm that the Namibian Police have not lost any of the AK-47s currently at our disposal,” inspector general Joseph Shikongo said.
Shikongo added that the smuggling of weapons to South Africa, whether police firearms or firearms from other sectors, remains a concern.
“We are working closely with our counterparts in South Africa to deal with this matter in terms of law,” he said.
He also cited a recent arrest in Windhoek of a suspect in a fraud case involving about N$200 million.
Brigadier general Fillemon Shafashike of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) said the military maintains strict procedures to control its weapons.
“We have not had a case where we have lost some rifles at this point in time. We have strict measures controlling our rifles, and we have never received a report indicating that during the period this report was received we lost some rifles,” Shafashike said.
He explained that each AK47 is issued individually and tracked.
“Each weapon is issued in a person’s name. We have a register and a clear process on how to draw weapons from the weapon store and how to return such weapons. No individual soldier can draw a weapon without the presence of his or her superior. There is a register where the person must sign out the weapon from the store,” he said.
“Namibia is one of the routes used to smuggle firearms, including AK47s, into South Africa. There appear to be two sorts of these firearms: one is the Namibian Police Force and the other the Namibian military,” according to Aron Hyman of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
He added that gangs rely on these weapons due to limited access to legal firearms.
“There have been claims by gangs that they have received firearms from Namibia dating back to 2016. The smuggling route is primarily operated by two South African trucking companies that specialise in transporting fresh produce such as flowers and fruits. The owners of these companies are said to have links and even family ties to certain Western Cape gangs. Many gangs rely on the supply of firearms from this route, and some may also be copycats now involved in smuggling firearms from Namibia,” Hyman said.
The issue first came to public attention in October 2020, when 12 Namibian police pistols were discovered during a roadblock in Cape Town.
A Namibian national arrested in the case was later sentenced in an unrelated break-in at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala Lodge.
In 2022, the theft of 90 firearms and ammunition led to the arrest of four Namibian police officers stationed at the central depot in Windhoek.
At the time, the police did not have an electronic firearms database.
Attempts to obtain comment from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security were referred to the Namibian Police.
