OSHAKATI, OSHIKOTO — Two young men were arrested in northern Namibia after allegedly hijacking a taxi, confining the driver in the trunk, and committing a series of robberies across the Oshikoto and Oshana regions.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Deputy Commissioner Titus Ekandjo, the crime investigations coordinator for the region, detailed the events that transpired. The incident began late on Thursday when a taxi driver in a red Mazda Demio was hijacked by two men he had picked up in Oshakati. The men, demanding to be taken to a remote location in Ekuku, assaulted the driver when he refused, ultimately restraining him and locking him in the vehicle’s trunk.

The suspects, aged 20 and 24, then embarked on a crime spree, targeting various ‘cucashops’—small convenience stores—culminating in a break-in at a bar in Okapuku village around 3:35 a.m. on Friday. Using a bolt cutter, they forced entry into the establishment, stealing a jackpot machine, alcohol, and cash totaling approximately N$101,235 ($5,700).

The bar owner, alerted by an employee, encountered the suspects as they attempted to flee in the hijacked car. In a bid to stop them, he fired shots with a shotgun, striking the driver’s side door, which led the suspects to abandon the vehicle and escape on foot. Police were quick to respond, discovering the hijacked taxi with the driver still inside the trunk, visibly injured and distressed.

The stolen goods from the bar were recovered from the vehicle. Police subsequently opened multiple charges against the suspects, including housebreaking, theft, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and kidnapping. The investigation is ongoing, with two suspects having been apprehended at a traffic roadblock in Ongwediva.