Kavango residents urged to be vigilant during festive season

Residents of the Kavango East and West regions are urged to be on the look out for criminals targeting their homes especially during the festive season.
Kavango West Regional Commander: Commissioner Olavi Auanga says that during the festive season house breaking is high as households are left unattended when families leave for holiday.
“We want to appeal to the community to work together with the police. People in urban areas must approach the police and inform us when they decide to leave for their destinations in order for the police to offer their services and patrol their houses,” he said.

“This time around we want to interact with the community and continue with the community policing which is the only way we can fight criminals off our streets,” said Auanga.
To curb the high number of accidents that occur on the national roads, Auanga said the mission of the Kavango regional police is to reduce accidents during the festive season.
“We have set up a permanent road block on the busiest road and have decided on a different approach when stopping the drivers at the road block. We will not only stop the drivers and conduct random vehicle searches but this time around we plan on educating and informing drivers about safety and making sure that they understand traffic rules,” he said.
Auanga added that interacting with drivers is paramount in order to try and change the drivers’ behaviour. He said despite many road traffic campaigns, many lives are still lost due to road accidents each year.
“We will tell the drivers that we do not want to lose them on our roads hence they should try to remain patient when driving,” he said.
Auanga said besides road accidents, many lives are lost during the festive season due to criminal activities.
He said one of the contributing factor is excessive alcohol consumption which he says can be avoided. “The police will target all shebeens that operate during after hours, we will consult with the operators to try and close them at specific hours,” he said.
Auanga also cautioned the community when swimming in the river or at the infamous Rundu beach which has claimed many lives, saying that they should be wary of crocodiles.