EDITORIAL: Police must tone down on force

One of the things the racist apartheid regime has taught us is that, in a repressive state, law and tyranny can be applied concomitantly.

In fact, law was used to advance the state’s cruelty and oppression against dissidents and perceived enemies of the state.

First, the regime targeted political opponents. Second, it pounced on activists that opposed its policy and, third, directed its fury at journalists as they were deemed the passage of truth and public enlightenment.

The current events in our country, where activists and opposition figures have consistently found themselves at the receiving end of police brutality and harassment, bring back memories of those dark days.

What is even more worrying is what appears to be a very partisan application of such heavy-handed application of law enforcement in our country lately.

Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday poured cold water over these series of events, saying they are purely coincidental.

However, the pattern is worrisome, and sharply contradicts Ndeitunga’s version of events. Images of opposition figures in police vans and court docks were a scarcity in post-independence Namibia – until recently, when they have become a regular sight.

As Namibians become increasingly aware of their rights, so will they increasingly become engaged in remonstrative action. And while police have the unalienable duty to keep law and order, they must remain cognisant of their obligation to protect people’s civil rights.