Constancio Hishiyukifa Mwandingi

PO Box 3527, Windhoek

BUSH AND TREE CLEARING AS A METHOD TO PREVENT OR STOP CRIME

It is worrying that whenever in Namibia, especially in Windhoek, a heinous crime is committed bushes and trees end up being victims. It is debatable whether the tactic of cutting down trees and bushes will lead to a crime-free city. Is this action of cutting down trees and bushes not detrimental to the environment of the capital city and contributing to the general environmental damage in the country?

Certainly, the goal to protect people from crime is a noble one. However, it does not have to be achieved through deforestation and environmental degradation, which is likely to cause the destruction of local ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. Does Namibia want people who, it seems, will be safe in a desert?  This is likely to be the case, if the current practice continues.

One would think that instead of destroying the environment, the security agencies could in fact take advantage of the environment to prevent crime and catch criminals rather than the other way around. For example, trees and bushes could be used to lay ambushes against criminals at crime-prone spots and at the same time, they could protect the security personnel from detection and danger.

It is perhaps high time that Namibia considers reviewing the tactic of cutting down bushes and trees as a method to prevent or stop crime. Instead, few areas could be cleared to provide visibility for security personnel, while most grassy and bushy areas could actually be used to lay ambushes against would be criminals. That is to say, make grassy and bushy areas death traps for criminals in order to deter them from even thinking of using such areas to commit crimes.

Namibia is already largely a semi-arid country and it needs the protection and good usage of the few trees and bushes that it has.

The way the cutting down of bushes and trees as a crime prevention method in Windhoek is done is highly unconvincing and unsustainable in the long-term, and in fact, the security agencies may end up destroying more trees and bushes than catching criminals, because the bush clearing could in fact be favouring criminals as well.

Constancio Hishiyukifa Mwandingi

Windhoek, Namibia

Constancio Hishiyukifa Mwandingi lives in Windhoek, Namibia, and writes in his personal capacity on security and health related matters.