Africa-Press – Namibia. THREE Namibians, arrested in Zambia for allegedly stealing 30 head of cattle alongside two Zambian nationals, are still being held in custody at the Livingstone Central Police Station since December last year.
A reporter from Zambia Prime Television told The Namibian last week that the suspects haven’t appeared in court yet since their arrest. “I am wondering how they can be in custody till now. According to our laws, a suspect should only be in the cells for not more than 48 hours,” he said.
Zambezi regional crime investigation coordinator deputy commissioner Evans Simasiku told The Namibian last week that a request was made through the inspector general’s office in Windhoek to sanction a joint investigation with Zambian authorities. He said a team of two investigators has been assembled and will be accompanied by eight complainants whose cattle were allegedly stolen.
Deputy inspector general of the Namibian Police, major general Joseph Shikongo told The Namibian last week that the request has been approved, and since the two countries have bilateral agreements in place, as well as protocols on how to handle such cases, the Office of the Inspector General approached the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation to facilitate the process for the team to cross into Zambia.
“We consider this as a serious case if there are Namibian nationals that are in Zambia. The communication was made back to the region with regards to the application,” said Shikongo.
On Sunday, Simasiku said they had written to the Zambian authorities on the matter, and are awaiting a response. “We are ready. It is just the Zambian authorities that have not yet responded, but a reminder letter was written to them and we are still waiting.
Zambia Prime Television reported that the five men were apprehended at Ngenga village in the Kazungula district of the southern province, after they were found escorting cattle suspected to have been stolen from Namibia.
It is alleged that the animals were being escorted to the loading bay of Mwenze Matangi for slaughtering in Livingstone, Zambia. However, when the suspects reached Ngenga village, people got suspicious as to how the animals could have been moved to Livingstone despite the ban by the government in its efforts to evade the spread of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease.
According to the report, the villagers then demanded to see the stock movement permit of the livestock and discovered that the details on the permit were contrary to the number of animals and brand marks of the animals the group was escorting.
The permit indicated that 18 animals were supposed to be moved with a brand mark of ACH, but the men had 30 heads of cattle with an alternate Namibian stock brand.
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