Africa-Press – Namibia. OSHANA regional commander commissioner Rauha Amwele said primary school children in the region are bringing drugs to school.
School pupils are also bringing a popular whiskey/brandy blend, well known as Angolan whisky, to school to consume it on school grounds, said Amwele. Amwele was speaking at a media briefing with Namibian Police head Sebastian Ndeitunga at Oshakati on Friday.
She said some children have become violent at school, and as a result teachers had to call the police. The police received information from regional councillors and headmen confirming this, said Amwele.
Oshana regional police spokesperson inspector Thomas Aiyambo said drugs were found at five schools in the region. “One learner planted dagga at home and was removed by the police,” Aiyambo said.
“Drug dealers have now transformed drugs into forms of small cookies which they sell to children for N$20 or more. When children consume them, they become addicted and start stealing from home,” Ndeitunga said.
He added that the community should not be afraid of reporting drug dealers to the police, so that they can be dealt with. Ndeitunga said drugs come into the country in “big trucks” and cannot be detected without proper scanners at border points.
Two weeks ago, The Namibian reported that police officers in the Oshana region had confiscated knives and cellphones, among other items, from pupils at Mweshipandeka High School hostel at Ongwediva.
According to Aiyambo, the contraband was confiscated during a police search. At the time, Aiyambo said some pupils from the same school were caught with the illegally imported whisky/brandy blend on school grounds.
“Their behaviour and conduct were suspicious, thus the school management informed the Ongwediva station commander,” Aiyambo said. He urged parents to cooperate with schools and report children who abuse drugs and alcohol.
A teacher from Onekuta Junior Secondary School in the Ohangwena region told The Namibian on Tuesday that pupils at his school also bring knives and the whisky/brandy blend to school. This despite warnings from the school principal.
The Namibian also reported that a 19-year-old pupil from Haimbili Haufiku Secondary School in the Ohangwena region was found with cannabis on school premises last week.
According to the Ohangwena police spokesperson inspector, Kaume Itumba, the pupil was allegedly selling the drugs to fellow pupils at the school, for an outsider. The drugs have since been confiscated after fellow pupils reported him to the principal.
Haimbili Haufiku Secondary School principal Rabanus Shaninga confirmed the incident, but he declined to divulge any details on the incident, saying it might endanger the pupil’s life.
“We are dealing with the matter. Parents have been informed and the child is receiving counselling. For the sake of the child, we need to treat the matter very sensitively,” he said.
Itumba said the police in the Ohangwena region received information about pupils who attend schools near the Namibia/Angola border and bring two-litre containers of tombo and the whisky/brandy mix to school, carrying them in their school bags.