A dispute over a hostel padlock at Ndoro Memorial Combined School in Kongola Constituency escalated when police officers allegedly assaulted learners at the school.

The incident occurred on Saturday night after a hostel supervisor reportedly discovered a piece of metal inserted into a padlock.

After failing to establish who had tampered with the lock, the supervisor contacted the hostel superintendent for guidance.

The superintendent advised that the matter be dealt with the following day and that the damaged padlock could simply be broken for the night.

The supervisor, however, allegedly went against that advice and summoned police officers from the nearby Omega 3 Police Camp.

The learners allege that, upon arrival, the officers reeked of alcohol and ordered them to lie down and roll on the interlocked ground while allegedly whipping them.

"And they wanted to spray us with the hosepipe, apparently for us to talk and say who placed the wire in the padlock. But then our supervisor told them we don't have a hosepipe," explained headboy Thomas Mabengano.

"It wasn't nice treatment for us because of the way we were treated; the words they were using were unacceptable. We were insulted; our parents were insulted, which made us feel very bad," added learner Dickens Kambinda.

The learners subsequently fled the hostel and sought refuge at the home of the school principal.

Principal Linus Sipopo said he immediately contacted the station commander to establish why police officers were at the hostel.

"As to what happened, he told me, 'Yes, the officers were in the hostel.' But he denied the beating. However, I explained to him that the learners are at my house, and visibly, you could see some of those learners were swollen here and there. This is the incident which happened, and these two supervisors confirmed that indeed the police were there. They witnessed how they were beating the learners." 

On Sunday, three learners were taken to Chetto Clinic, where they were treated for minor bruises.

The hostel supervisor has since been suspended from hostel duties, although he remains a teacher at the school.

Meanwhile, no criminal case has been opened so far.

The Director of Education for the Zambezi Region, Alex Sikume, said the directorate has involved the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, and investigations are ongoing.

Acting Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Major General Anne-Marie Nainda, said she directed the acting regional commander to advise the school or the parents to open a case so that formal investigations can begin.

Nainda added that police cannot take action against police officers without a formal complaint.