Police officers say put courts near police stations to avoid overloading inmates 

By: Ludorf Iyambo 

Police officers are appealing for the establishment of courtrooms next to police stations to reduce the inmates overloading issue, in police vans. 

An officer, who spoke to NewsOnOne on condition of anonymity, gave a scenario of more than 30 inmates, who are transported daily over an 80km from Omuthiya to Ondangwa and 100km between Oshivelo and Tsumeb.

The officer added that the Omuthiya holding cells currently houses more than 600 inmates, many of whom have to be transported for court appearances every day. 

“Why does the government have money for fuel to transport inmates every day, but not money to build more courts? As police officers, we are often forced to overload inmates because they all need to attend their court cases,” the officer said. 

The concerned officer highlighted that if something happens to the vehicle on the way such as a tyre burst, the responsibility and pressure fall on the police officers, which may be beyond their control. 

Police vans are designed to carry only six people, but due to the high number of inmates, officers are often forced to exceed this capacity. 

The officer also pointed out that there is a known shortage of vehicles at various police stations by the safety and security ministry. 

“We face a shortage of vehicles every day. For example, the vehicle used to transport inmates in Ondangwa is the same one being used to transport them to Oshakati as well,” the officer said.