Geingob implores veteran police force members to retire

WINDHOEK, 13 DEC – President Hage Geingob has called on veterans of the liberation struggle within the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) to retire.
Geingob was speaking during a meeting with NamPol’s Inspector General, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga and his high ranking subordinates at State House on Wednesday.
The aim of the meeting was to address the police force and express gratitude on behalf of the Namibian people.
“We think we must be there permanently, it cannot be. We have done our part, we have to move on and new ones have to come,” Geingob stressed.
He explained that the matter of retirement when compared with his role as President, differs.
“I just talk in the offices, you [officers] have to run around [and] chase people. You must be healthy and must be in good shape. I mentioned that you can’t be a police officer with a pot belly and people were teasing me, saying they freed the country. We all freed the country,” Geingob said.
He added that the time has come for veterans still on duty to bid farewell to service whilst emphasising that they should be taken care of.
“Take care of them but they should also go and rest,” he noted.
Geingob further urged the top management of the force to desist from promotion based on favouritism, ethnicity, nepotism, racism or other unethical reasons.
On his part, the Inspector General concurred with the Head of State, stating: “The force is ageing, unfortunately in the force there is no room for you to say ‘I cannot go for retirement’. If your age reached retirement age you have to go,” he said.
Although Ndeitunga stressed that “it’s very scary” if the force does not embark on a recruitment drive to replace retired members, he however assured Geingob that come 2020 or 2022, the majority of the top management will retire.
“We have a plan of succession to ensure that there are no issues of leadership but it’s a concern if we don’t have the resources to recruit.” – NAMPA