Struggle kids turn violent after car accident

Struggle kids turn violent after car accident ILENI NANDJATO

Chaos erupted yesterday morning between police and the ‘children of the liberation struggle’ camping outside the Ruben Michael Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre in Ondangwa after one of the ‘kids’ was hit by a car over the weekend.

Paulus Shimwinyo, 30, is recovering in the Onandjokwe hospital from injuries sustained when he was struck by a Toyota Venture while crossing a road on Saturday afternoon.

This irked the group and they blocked the entrance to the training centre with branches, timber and steel objects around 07:30 yesterday, saying they should be allowed to camp inside the centre.

A large group are camping on both sides of the main road in Ondangwa, putting their lives at risk as they cross the road all the time.

Traffic on the Ondangwa-Ongwediva road come to a standstill for about an hour as the struggle kids started throwing stones at the police when they refused to disperse from the entrance.

The Special Reserve Force of the police was called in after the regional commander for operations, Deputy Commissioner Karel Theron, failed to persuade the protesters to leave.

The group leader was arrested and the group turned angry, pelting the police with stones. They ran into Okapale location, which made it difficult for the police to arrest them.

“We have been requesting for a meeting with the training centre’s management for them to accommodate us inside the training centre, but they never listen to us. Following the incident of a fellow member who got hit by a vehicle, we decided to block the entrance as a move for them to come to us. Here our lives are at risk,” said Simeon Shikulo, a group leader.

About 80 exile kids from the Swapo office at Okandjengedi relocated the Ruben Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre about a month ago. This followed a move by the government to accommodate over 200 struggle kids who were marching to the Simon Mutumba Police Training Centre in the Zambezi Region. The government intervened and took them to the Ruben Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre.

The regional police commander for Oshana, Commissioner Rauha Amwele, said those inside the centre were not being accommodated by the police, but were waiting to be relocated by the government.

“Those inside are just there temporarily there while waiting to be taken to their destination. We cannot allow those outside to go in because we are not the ones responsible for those already inside. We are not pleased with their behaviour but at least no one was injured and those who were taken in by police were only warned,” Amwele said.

She confirmed that one of the struggle kids was hit by a car while crossing the road on Saturday afternoon. “He was admitted to Onandjokwe hospital and I understand he is in stable condition,” she said.