Four pupils in the Zambezi region are expected to appear in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court after the theft of five donated computers from their school.
Five of the 40 computers that were officially handed over to the school by B2Gold Namibia on Monday were missing on Wednesday morning after the computer lab was broken into. The 40 computers are valued at N$250 000.
The school's principal has confirmed the break-in to Nampa.
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He says four suspects this week broke the aluminium windows of the computer lab and stole five computer monitors and keyboards.
However, upon tracking the suspects on foot, an exercise that was done jointly by teachers, community members and the security guards on duty, they were found.
"It was raining heavily around 02h00, and that's when it is suspected the suspects broke into the computer lab. Luckily the security guard alerted me when he noticed it, and with the assistance of the community members and teachers alike we managed to track down the suspects. They were arrested and we recovered the stolen items," the principal says.
Chief inspector Kisco Sitali, the head of community policing in the Zambezi region, has confirmed the arrests, saying a housebreaking report was received from the security company that guards the school.
"Upon arrival at the school, the officers were informed they recovered some computers at Kabozu village in the Masokotwani area found hidden in bundles of grass," he says.
Sitali says all the stolen computers were recovered and handed back to the school principal in the presence of school staff and the security company.
The pupils are expected to be charged and make their first court appearance in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court this week on charges related to housebreaking and theft.
The 40-computer donation was facilitated by minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa, who on Monday at the official occasion repeatedly cautioned against misuse and urged pupils and teachers alike to preserve the computers for future generations.
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