Public Policy Analyst, Dr. Marius Kudumo is of the view that certain actions by the police constitute police brutality.

Dr. Kudumo was particularly referring to police actions during demonstrations.

Kudumo's comments come in the wake of the arrest of two police officers for the alleged murder of a 31-year-old Keetmanshoop resident, who died after an alleged assault by the police.

Stand-offs between the police and civilians are not too common, but should there be an encounter, it is one that is aggressive.

Some encounters between the public and the police worth noting were during the "Shut it Down Movement" demonstrations in 2020, where demonstrators - mainly youth - stormed the parliament in protest against gender-based violence.

The action of these protestors was triggered by a series of gruesome assaults on women and girls.

The riot police were forced to use teargas to disperse the protesters.

The group was demanding a change to existing laws and introducing new legislation to protect vulnerable women against violence.

In May last year, activist Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and others threatened to shut down China Town in Windhoek.

Their action was a result of alleged non-compliance of Chinese business owners to pay tax and preferential treatment by law enforcement agencies.

The police described their action as tantamount to inciting violence.

The Special Reserve Force was called in and gave the demonstrators five minutes to disperse.

Their refusal to disperse led to the firing of rubber bullets and teargas.

Pregnant women and an nbc radio journalist were among those who were injured.

Most recently, a death allegedly perpetrated by the tactical unit of the police, send shockwaves at the southern town of Keetmanshoop.

A unit trained to handle situations that are deemed out of control is said to have assaulted a Keetmanshoop resident who later succumbed to his injuries.

The allegations are that they found Elleste Plaatjie with a bankie of dagga, which led to the alleged fatal assault on Plaatjie.

Asked about his view on the situation Public Policy Analyst, Dr. Marius Kudumo was quoted as: 

"We are in a constitutional democracy where people have rights and when rights are being violated, especially leading to death, that is a very serious matter, the police are there to protect the public as well as their properties, so if there is a case, the person must be arrested, charged and appear in court, this is not a situation that someone can talk good about, it needs to be addressed" 

In December last year, a police force officer was seen in a widely distributed video on social media, aggressively throwing a man into the back of a police van.

The man is said to have interfered in routine police investigations.

nbc News reached out to the Oshana Regional Commander, Commissioner Sakaria Lungameni, asking if the actions of the police officers were justified.

Lungameni said the situation was not at all an appealing one but also warned that civilians should allow the police to carry out their duties.

But Dr. Marius Kudumo says more should be done, to equip police officers with skills that would help them to avert encounters with civilians that can escalate to violence.