Traffic fines amounting to over N$200,000 have been collected during Operation ZAKAWE in the Kavango East, Kavango West, and Zambezi regions between 03 and 12 August.

The operation initially started in 2020; however, it was halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2021. The Zambezi Police Commander, Julia Sakuwa-Neo, stated that 27 suspects were arrested for possession of cannabis, contravention of the Nature Conservation Ordinance, and road traffic violations.

“The traffic fines issued in Zambezi total 41, with a value of N$59,500, and Kavango East with 28 traffic fines valued at N$33,250, while Kavango West had 69 traffic fines valued at N$112,750. So the total revenue collected for the government is N$205,500.”

The operation was conducted jointly with the immigration officials. Fifty-three illegal immigrants were deported.

“I know we always have this blame that comes from the public and the leaders, that there are a lot of immigrants in our area. It's the same with the two Kavango regions, where they have Angolans. So they are also there. But the challenge we have is the cells' capacity. So if we gather and collect them, a whole 200 or 500 of them. But at the end of the day, where do we keep them?”

The head of the Operation Support Subdivision in Kavango West, Chief Inspector Andreas Simbandi, also raised some concerns observed during the operation.

"What I have experienced on the ground is that when we started, everything went well. We had some hiccups with resources and transport. We could not reach some of the areas; especially when we came to Zambezi, we could not access the flood area. Where I was deployed, we could not reach there due to the flood challenge. That is one of the main challenges, as that area is the one where most of the criminal activities are happening.”