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Graffiti artist forced to cover his 'zins' in Swakop

Neighbourhood watch stops vandalism
A Swiss graffiti artist who was caught red-handed in Swakopmund was forced to paint over his acts of vandalism.
Adam Hartman
A Swiss national, who spray-painted the word 'Zin' on walls in Swakopmund's central business area, was caught red-handed last week and forced to cover his acts of vandalism with a fresh coat of paint.

The Swakopmund Neighbourhood Watch, during one of their patrols on Wednesday morning, ran into the "wannebe Picasso" while he was spray-painting a boundary wall of the Swakopmund police station.

"Picasso was very relaxed until he noticed our jackets. He then took off like the proverbial bat out of hell, leaving his tools of the trade behind," a post on social media by a member of the watch read.

The suspect was observed on CCTV cameras in town and was eventually apprehended on Libertina Amathila Street. At first, he denied knowing anything about the graffiti, but eventually admitted that he was the "budding Picasso" and pointed out a second "masterpiece" against a wall in the vicinity of Georg Ludwig Kindergarten, just down the road from the police station.

Andre van Rensburg told Erongo 24/7 that the graffiti artist did not divulge what 'Zin' stands for. "Due to the 'foreign substances', which he used earlier, he could not remember the location of his third masterpiece," the social media post stated.

Bad tourist

It came to light that the suspect is from Switzerland.

The social media post stated that the spray painter was of the mistaken opinion that the Swakopmund centre needed a touch of art to improve its appeal for residents and visitors alike, but he was wrong and consequently received a quick introduction to the Namibian legal system.

"He had to switch from cans of spray paint to tins of paint and a roller to cover his masterpieces, and by the looks of it, it was hard work! Hopefully, he has learnt a lesson and will become a model tourist who will always respect any country he visits," the post concluded.

Kerri Rust, a resident, posted on social media, asking why a person would spend money to travel to Namibia just to spray-paint Swakopmund walls, adding that the graffiti was not even good.

Hannelie Schoonbee said that "Picasso" should be asked to do his art work in areas that need improvement - "but with permission from the owners," of

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-10

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