By:Annakleta Haikera
Mashare Constituency Councillor Phillip Mavara says the police are failing with investigations into stolen water pumps in the area.
This failure, he said, causes the theft of water pumps to continue unabated.
The two Kavango regions have witnessed the highest rates of stolen water pumps in the country, with around 43 stolen.
Seven water pumps have been stolen at Mashare this year, with only two suspects arrested after the owner of the water pump went to report the incident to the police, which led to the pump being identified.
According to a police report, a water pump worth N$50,000 was stolen on 27 July at the Mupapama village at the Mukuku Rest Camp and two suspects were arrested a week after the incident.
Councillor Mavara argues that the police can only arrest suspects if the villagers give them a link or the owner of the stolen water pump goes to them and tells them that they suspect someone to have stolen the pump.
“They don’t send a team to come to the village and investigate. This year alone, seven water pumps have been stolen at Mashare and these cases are reported to the police, but you won’t hear of anyone arrested. So far this year, two pumps were stolen at Tjeye in the Kavango East region, one at Mavara, one at Maushivi, one at Mahahe, one at Mashare Teya, including the latest one at Mupapama. All these pumps were stolen and only one arrest was made. It’s disappointing to those getting water from those water pumps,” he said.
He called on the investigating officers to ask the suspects once caught, who is sending them to steal the water pumps and from there do a thorough investigation on these suspects.
“Maybe then we will know the others that are creating havoc in this area,” Mavara added.
The owners of Mukuku Rest Camp, who chose not to be identified, reacted to the news of the arrests with joy at the Mupapama village, telling The Villager that “all we want is the law to deal with such culprits accordingly. Numerous water pumps are being stolen in this area and we are tired of just hearing the same thing over and over again.”
The two suspects made their first court appearance in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court last Thursday, and were convicted and sentenced to a fine of N$6,000 each or one year imprisonment.
They were identified as Mutero Mukoya, aged 29, and Romanus Ndjamba, aged 26. The two remain in custody until they pay the fine.
Martha Kaveto, a resident of the Mashare area, told The Villager that the theft of water pumps in the area is making life difficult for them.
“Some of these pumps are situated 10kilometres from the tarred road near the river but you will hear that it has been stolen. It can also be that our own people are doing the stealing. We just want the police to work hard in this area to eliminate the problem or else our people and animals will be affected by human-wildlife conflict again,”Kaveto said.
Kavango East Regional Commander Johanna Ngondo referred all queries regarding Mavara’s comments to Kavango East Regional Crime Investigation Coordinator Bonifatius Kanyetu. However, after several attempts to contact Kanyetu, he was not available for comment at the time of publication.
He previously told this publication that the suspects were arrested on Wednesday after “the rightful owner at the Mupapama village identified the water pump.”