The police at Katima Mulilo, Zambezi Region, are concerned about the possible health hazard at the station emanating from an overflowing manhole.

The station commander, Inspector Charles Mayumbelo, says that the manhole has been overflowing for years.

Mayumbelo says the blockage and overflow have now become a weekly problem with no permanent solution.

"We have to make sure that prisoners are removed from cell to cell; it's also a health hazard to them like us, so that's why we are appealing to whoever is concerned to come to our rescue."

Bassie Mutonga is a sergeant at the station and says the situation is no longer conducive.

"We are in a very bad situation, our health is at risk. You know, we call clients here; we interview people. You know, calling those people to come here is very embarrassing, especially for some of us. I'm pregnant, and I think my health is at risk."

The station, where 269 employees are stationed, also currently holds 362 inmates, which is way over the intended capacity of 80 inmates.

Chief Inspector Mayumbelo added that health inspectors were requested several times to attend to the situation but without success.

"And we have to serve our nation, we don't want to run away from this building, it's one of the oldest buildings in Namibia, either it needs to be renovated, or a new police station has to be constructed, any of the two."

The deputy commissioner in charge of administration in the region, Magdalene Garises, says that the building is over sixty years old and suggests that the only solution at this point would be to build a new police station on the land donated to the force over 15 years ago.

Contacted for comment, the Chief Executive Officer of Katima Mulilo town council, Rafael Liswaniso, says the problem needs to be attended to by the Ministry of Works and Transport.

However, Selma Madiba, the artisan foreman in the maintenance department in the Ministry of Works said that although manhole blockages inside the police station are handled by them and the police force's maintenance department, the pump station on the same premises still belongs to and should be maintained by the local council.

She further explained that KMTC's sewer line has been blocked for over two years, which has also contributed to wastewater being pumped into public roads.