By: Hertha Ekandjo
A murder accused inmate Lukas Josef walked scott-free this past Saturday at 14:40 from the police holding cells in Walvis Bay after presenting false information to officers who then released him.
Erongo region police inspector Ileni Shapumba revealed this.
Shapumba added that the officers released Josef due to negligence. According to him, the officers did not confirm whether or not he had another outstanding case and did not check on the information presented to them before releasing Josef.
“Josef had two cases, of which he got released on one by the court. The other case, he was still not released of it. This whole thing is embarrassing and disturbing,” Shapumba told The Villager.
Josef is said to be at large, and there is a case open against him for escaping from police custody and a pending case of murder. He was charged with the murder of a police officer who was killed last year in 2021 in Kuisebmund.
According to Shapumba, Josef was not yet released on the murder case and should not have been released. “Therefore, he needs to be traced and brought back to answer on the charges laid against him.”
Shapumba stated that the police has started with a manhunt, searching for him, and the police has informed the media to help assist in the search for Josef.
This is not the first incident in which the police have wrongfully released an inmate. A similar incident occurred last year at the Mariental correctional facility after officers mistakenly released an inmate due to a mix-up of names.
The prison officials released Bernadus Khariseb instead of Bernadus Gariseb.
On 08 March 2022, an inmate was said to have escaped police custody at the Gibeon police station after he and two other inmates assaulted a police officer, bit him on the hand, and tied his legs.
This happened when the officer on duty went alone to the holding cells to allow the inmates to collect their laundry from the washing line.
Another incident was reported in November 2019, where 12 inmates escaped the Menias Brian Libuto police station’s holding cell in Kongola, Zambezi Region. This escape happened after the inmates overpowered the officer who was on duty.
Adding to the list is the 2020 April prison break that happened at the Divundu Correctional Facility. This was said to have occurred after four inmates overpowered an officer, took the keys to the cell, jumped the facility and fled.
