About 185 GBV victims killed in six month

By Confidente Reporter
OVER 180 people were killed in the past six months across the country as a result of Gender Based Vio­lence (GBV) the Namibian police has said.
Nampol’s head of the Crime Investigation Directorate (CID), Commissioner Generaal Du Toit said statistics show that 185 people have died at the hands of their partners from April 2016 to Sep­tember 2016 and the figure might double.
According to the statistics, April, July and August recorded the high­est number of murder cases due to domestic violence with the figures standing at 41, 40 and 33 murders respectively.
May, June and September had the lowest number of domestic violence murder related cases that stand at 20, 28 and 23 respectively.
“This figure includes men, women and children who were killed in cases that involve domes­tic violence and by end of March (2017) the figure might double because statistics show that in De­cember cases of domestic violence increase,” he said.
Between April 2015 and March 2016, an alarming 386 people were killed by their partners in cases of domestic violence, Nampol statis­tics show.
Namibia over the years has been recording unprecedented high cas­es of GBV where scores of women mostly are butchered in cold blood by their partners or former lovers.
Meanwhile, Du Toit has revealed that 942 cases of drug possession, distribution and dealing have been recorded in the past six months.
July saw Nampol arresting 208 people for drug related cases fol­lowed by August with 160 cases and April were 157 cases were re­corded.
Du Toit revealed that the drugs which are mostly cannabis/mari­juana/dagga and mandrax are coming from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo via Angola.
“The routes the drugs are com­ing into the country are the Demo­cratic of Congo via Angola, South Africa via Botswana and directly from South Africa. Although we have had success at our borders we have realised we have to start working with our neighbours and that’s why next year we will have meetings with our neighbours so we can deal with the influx of drugs coming into the country,” he said.
Du Toit bemoaned how com­munity members are not reporting drug related cases that affect them to the police.
“People are not coming forward to report drug related cases to us. The public should come forward with information so we arrest the drug dealers as well.”
He also expressed sadness that some school children were now being exposed to drugs.
“These drugs are getting in the hands of children and there is need for the community and parents to come forward and expose those who are using, dealing and are in possession of drugs,” he said.
Commissioner Generaal Du Toit