Residents urged to report crime

OSHIKUKU, Sept.15 – There has been a sharp rise in the number of house break-ins, particularly in extensions 1 and 2, while extension 4 is slightly affected at Oshikuku in the Omusati region.
45 cases of house break-ins were reported at Oshikuku police station since January to date. No arrests were made in any of the cases as criminals break-in during the day to avoid being caught.

Oshikuku Mayor Mbockoma Mungandjera told residents that many crimes were going unreported because of people not working together to fight crimes in the town. During a public meeting on Tuesday he said: “We are concerned about the regularity with which housebreaking incidents are being committed in Oshikuku. It is against this background that we are strongly urging all homeowners to leave someone at home or inform your neighbors to ensure house break-ins are control,” Mungandjera.

He also urged community members to consider forming neighbourhood watch programmes in their areas as this will make it easier to alert each other and the police of all suspicious activities in the area.

“People are refusing to give statement when break-ins are happening and they have witness it. How do you think we can fight crime like that when we have people like that in our town?” questioned Mungandjera.
The residents who attended the meeting said that most of the house break-ins are down by people they know and builders who are believed to be working with housekeepers.
They noted with concern that they hardly get any assistance from Oshikuku police station in order to fight crimes, as they are told that there is no transport for police officers to get to the scene on time. – Maria Abraham