Namibia Anti-Poaching Unit Torture Claim

A resident of Omusati region claims officers used branches, tear gas, and chili to extract a confession about a gun he says he never owned.

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Vamunika Turitjo alleges that unidentified anti-poaching officers detained him for over 12 hours in September, using physical force to secure a false admission of a firearm.
Medical records from Outapi District Hospital corroborate injuries including bruising, lacerations, and whip marks.

Vamunika Turitjo, a 40-year-old resident of Omuhama in Namibia’s Omusati region, alleges that members of an anti-poaching unit subjected him to a 12-hour ordeal in late September. According to AllAfrica, Turitjo claims the officers demanded a firearm he insisted he did not possess, using physical force to extract a confession. The alleged detention started late on 29 September and ended in the early morning of 30 September, concluding with Turitjo being left on a main road near Okonjota.

Turitjo describes the initial encounter as a group of men, whom he identified as military or police personnel stationed at Etosha National Park, approaching him and ordering him into their vehicle. He states that he initially resisted, wanting to speak to a lawyer, but eventually complied. Instead of a police station, the officers drove him into the bushes where they handcuffed him and began questioning him. Turitjo explains that a previous arrest in the area had led another man to falsely claim Turitjo owned the gun. To stop the physical assault, Turitjo admitted to having the firearm, a statement he now calls a tactical concession rather than a fact.

The physical toll of the alleged detention is documented in a medical report from Outapi District Hospital, where Turitjo was hospitalized from 30 September to 6 October. The J88 examination form, completed on 6 October, notes that the patient was struck with a stick and kicked, resulting in bruising across the abdomen and buttocks, whip marks, and lacerations in the mouth. The report also records tenderness around the upper jaw, reddish urine, and marks on the wrists consistent with handcuffing. Turitjo specifically recalls officers putting chili into his eyes and whipping him with branches while wearing black balaclavas that obscured their identities.

The case has now reached the formal police stage, with Turitjo opening a file at Okahao under case number CR17/10/2026. Commissioner Ismael Basson, the Omusati regional commander, confirmed the incident to The Namibian, stating that the case is under investigation. Basson noted that an arrest is imminent, though the specific officers remain unidentified due to their face-covering gear. Turitjo’s account relies heavily on his medical evidence and the timeline of his abandonment, as the officers did not return him to his original pickup point in Omuhama.

Namibian Man Alleges 12-Hour Torture by Anti-Poaching Unit Over Missing Firearm

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