{"id":80651,"date":"2024-11-16T17:46:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T17:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/army-chief-military-police-not-nampol-sprayed-tear-gas-on-soldiers"},"modified":"2024-11-16T17:46:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T17:46:00","slug":"army-chief-military-police-not-nampol-sprayed-tear-gas-on-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/army-chief-military-police-not-nampol-sprayed-tear-gas-on-soldiers","title":{"rendered":"Army chief: Military police, not NamPol, sprayed tear gas on soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Teargas was used to disperse members of the Namibian Police Force and members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in what could have degenerated into a national security disaster as skirmishes broke out at the Windhoek West special vote polling station, where members of the security cluster were casting their votes. The incident, which occurred during a special voting session on Wednesday, has led security cluster leaders to caucus and develop improved crowd control measures for the upcoming national elections on 27 November to prevent a recurrence.<\/p>\n

Chief of the Namibian Defence Force, Air Marshal Martin Pineas, confirmed the incident, stating that it was his military police who deployed tear gas to disperse a crowd of soldiers who were blocking the polling station\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make it clear that our military police did not release teargas on the Namibian Police. They only used tear gas to disperse soldiers who were overcrowding the entrance and did not heed orders to make way.<\/p>\n

The intention was simply to make sure there was order, and to allow the process to proceed smoothly\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Pineas added that the crowd control measures were taken in collaboration with the Namibian Police, who were responsible for maintaining law and order at the polling site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police are responsible for maintaining law and order. But in cases where soldiers are involved, the military police is also present. In this case, they used tear gas. This was an action agreed upon with the police to restore order,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

While Pineas described the incident as \u201cunfortunate\u201d, he stressed the need to uphold discipline within the security ranks, even in challenging situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, whether a soldier or a police officer, must act in a disciplined manner. When necessary, minimum force will be used to maintain order, but the intention is not to harm,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n

When asked if the incident can be classified as a national security threat, he dismissed those concerns, saying \u201cthe soldiers know they did not behave well, and they understand the actions taken to address the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police chief, Inspector General Joseph Shikongo described the incident as an unfortunate but necessary step to control the chaos at the polling station. \u201cThe situation started to get out of hand, as more people arrived to vote. Some form of control was needed, and law-enforcement officers were compelled to act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tear gas was deployed only to ensure that order was restored. It doesn\u2019t matter whether the individuals involved are security personnel or civilians; when order breaks down, law-enforcement must act\u201d, he stressed. Shikongo stated that the tear gas was used as a last resort, with other efforts having failed to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t wish to see tear gas used on Election Day, and we certainly don\u2019t intend for it to be a common occurrence. But when a situation becomes chaotic, we have to restore order,\u201d he reiterated.<\/p>\n

The police chief added, \u201cWe are putting additional measures in place for Election Day to make sure this doesn\u2019t happen again. The goal is a peaceful voting environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. Teargas was used to disperse members of the Namibian Police Force and members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in what could have degenerated into a national security disaster as skirmishes broke out at the Windhoek West special vote polling station, where members of the security cluster were casting their votes. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":80650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-80651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nArmy chief: Military police, not NamPol, sprayed tear gas on soldiers - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/army-chief-military-police-not-nampol-sprayed-tear-gas-on-soldiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army chief: Military police, not NamPol, sprayed tear gas on soldiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Namibia. Teargas was used to disperse members of the Namibian Police Force and members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in what could have degenerated into a national security disaster as skirmishes broke out at the Windhoek West special vote polling station, where members of the security cluster were casting their votes. 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