Kalahari morphs into Namib Desert
Operation Kalahari Desert will come to an end today and will be replaced with a new police-led operation that has been coined Operation Namib Desert.
Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the new operation will be launched today in Windhoek at the Katutura Youth Complex sports field.
Operation Kalahari Desert was launched last May after Operation Hornkranz came to an end.
These operations involved the Namibian police, Namibian Defence Force (NDF), the Namibian Correctional Service, the Windhoek City Police and other stakeholders in the fight against crime.
Operation Kalahari Desert received massive criticism after civilians were shot dead, while others were physically injured.
President Hage Geingob in 2019 defended the operation, saying it has yielded desirable results and that many people had told him they were satisfied with it and want it to continue.
Geingob, as the commander-in-chief of the NDF, launched Operation Hornkranz late in November 2018 with the purpose of fighting crime.
Meanwhile, the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), in collaboration with the Hans Seidel Foundation, recently launched a booklet prompted by events in Namibia since the launch of Operation Hornkranz and Operation Kalahari Desert.
The booklet analysed the use of excessive force by law-enforcement officers.
The coordinator for the gender research and advocacy project at LAC, Dianne Hubbard, noted at the launch of the booklet that the operations generated both positive and negative perceptions from the public.
However, she said it was shocking to learn that members of the NDF used lethal weapons on unarmed civilians during Operation Hornkranz and Operation Kalahari Desert, when some people were shot dead and others were injured by those meant to protect them, and the situation has now attracted international condemnation.
ELLANIE SMIT
Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the new operation will be launched today in Windhoek at the Katutura Youth Complex sports field.
Operation Kalahari Desert was launched last May after Operation Hornkranz came to an end.
These operations involved the Namibian police, Namibian Defence Force (NDF), the Namibian Correctional Service, the Windhoek City Police and other stakeholders in the fight against crime.
Operation Kalahari Desert received massive criticism after civilians were shot dead, while others were physically injured.
President Hage Geingob in 2019 defended the operation, saying it has yielded desirable results and that many people had told him they were satisfied with it and want it to continue.
Geingob, as the commander-in-chief of the NDF, launched Operation Hornkranz late in November 2018 with the purpose of fighting crime.
Meanwhile, the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), in collaboration with the Hans Seidel Foundation, recently launched a booklet prompted by events in Namibia since the launch of Operation Hornkranz and Operation Kalahari Desert.
The booklet analysed the use of excessive force by law-enforcement officers.
The coordinator for the gender research and advocacy project at LAC, Dianne Hubbard, noted at the launch of the booklet that the operations generated both positive and negative perceptions from the public.
However, she said it was shocking to learn that members of the NDF used lethal weapons on unarmed civilians during Operation Hornkranz and Operation Kalahari Desert, when some people were shot dead and others were injured by those meant to protect them, and the situation has now attracted international condemnation.
ELLANIE SMIT
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