… Nampol exposes how drug lords weaponise poverty
By Feni Hiveluah
Namibian drug lords have long been grooming vulnerable youth into becoming runners for their syndicates, causing many to drop out of school and find security in a lifestyle experts argue is causing real harm to communities.
Namibian Police deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi stated that the current consolidated statistics for the period May 2025 to May 2026 indicate that 822 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 were arrested for drug-related offences.
She highlighted that Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, and Keetmanshoop remain the areas most affected by drug-related activities. According to Shikwambi, current observations by the police indicate that young men are more frequently arrested for drug-related offences.
However, there has been a gradual increase in the involvement of young women in dealing in narcotics between May 2025 and May 2026. Cases involving minors have also been recorded, totalling 39 cases, with the youngest individual being 14 years old.
“Recent operations and intelligence assessments indicate an increasing trend in which drug syndicates and suppliers exploit vulnerable children and school-going youth to distribute illicit substances,” Shikwambi said.
She stated that young people are often targeted due to socio-economic challenges, peer pressure, unemployment, and the perception that minors attract less law- enforcement attention, but added that the police remain alert as well as continue operations with informers and law-abiding citizens.
THE CATCH
Psychologist Shaun Whittaker pointed out that the psychological tactics and grooming methods used by kingpins and drug lords do not usually start with threats, but rather by feeding on the needs of vulnerable young people, filling real material gaps and meeting basic needs such as hunger, school fees, transport, clothes and cellphone data.
“So the first job often feels like help, not recruitment, and that creates a sense of indebtedness, an ‘I owe you’ kind of thing,” Whittaker said.
According to him these syndicates often become like a surrogate family for runners, a place where they feel a sense of belonging.
According to Whittaker, syndicates offer protection, praise and status, especially to minors who feel invisible at home or at school.
He pointed out that drug lords use justification tactics to trap minors, telling them that the government does not care and that rich people also steal, reframing criminal behaviour in a way that normalises it.
“We see a gradual entrapment. It starts small, like watching a corner or being a lookout. It’s a step-by-step process. And then, of course, there’s the real dependence on money, emotional support and protection. The whole survival becomes dependent on this,” he maintained.
Whittaker highlighted that the psychological toll brought on by involvement in these syndicates includes constant fear, hypervigilance and always being in “fight or flight” mode.
“Of course, it is a very dangerous situation. There’ is exposure to violence, beatings, police raids and seeing others getting hurt or killed. There is real trauma and the only way to survive is to desensitise yourself, a real emotional blunting towards the danger.”
Whittaker stated that rehabilitation for minors wanting to leave the runner lifestyle needs to be holistic and long-term.
He cited physical protection, professional counselling and psychological support, including the involvement of social workers to help these youths deal with fear and trauma.
Whittaker further highlighted the need to reintegrate them back into society by helping them study, find jobs and secure sustainable incomes to support themselves and their families, support he believes Namibia currently struggles to provide long term.
“Namibia does not have that kind of support. If you look at our public mental health services, they are already overstretched and underfunded. Social workers carry heavy loads, and unfortunately we do not really have the kind of support that would be needed. But of course we have to continue trying to get young people out of this and give them a brighter future and a better alternative.”
INSIDE THE TRADE
A regular day for Bradley (not his real name), a runner, starts early packaging cannabis into small bags sold for N$10 and N$20. The streets of Okahandja are quiet in the morning, but Bradley soon moves to the front of his house to wait for the rush of cannabis users.
For Bradley, this is not a life he chose, but one forced on him by difficult circumstances at home. Living in a small brick house with his mother, sisters and elderly uncle, and without formal education, he felt compelled to find a way to provide for his family.
Another runner narrated how he had always done odd jobs such as raking yards, loading trucks and general work at cuca shops to support his family, but quickly realised he earned more money as a runner.
He pointed out that he earned around N$1,500 to N$2,000 a month through odd jobs, while running drugs brought in between N$3,000 and N$3,500 monthly.
SOCIAL FABRIC
According to community activist Shaun Gariseb, drug lords are often viewed as role models because they appear successful and influential to vulnerable youth.
“Drug dealers function like businesses these days. It is no longer just about selling for the sake of selling. People pay bills and send their children to school with drug money. And kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds find the offers given to them appealing. Many runners are risking money they could earn through honest means,” Gariseb said.
He said the recruitment of youth destroys the social fabric of communities and that those benefiting financially often do not care because the consequences do not directly affect their own lives.
Gariseb added that the availability of drugs systematically erodes community safety and cohesion and, in some instances, fractures family structures. “Drug misuse can really destroy young people,” he explained.
Gariseb urged community leaders and traditional authorities to take action against the recruitment of youth into drug syndicates.
He highlighted that many runners come from difficult circumstances and that leaders must create opportunities for young people so they do not turn to destructive lifestyles.
“There is also a need to engage drug dealers. Those people are just looking for bread, but we must encourage them to apply their hustling skills in responsible businesses and activities for collective benefit.”
Legal expert Manuel Kazondana stated that labelling first-time runners as criminals carries serious social consequences, as even short convictions create stigma, limit education and employment opportunities, and can entrench a cycle of offending.
In Namibia, data suggest many juveniles receive custodial sentences, with nearly 44 percent of juvenile offenders imprisoned in 2015–2016 receiving terms under six months.
He said these short-term jail sentences are unlikely to deter drug use or trafficking and instead may isolate youth from positive influences.
“International research, and Namibian experts, warn that strict punitive approaches marginalise vulnerable youth, whereas rehabilitative measures such as education, counselling and family support are more effective. In practice, excessive reliance on criminal records for minor possession likely pushes already impoverished youth further to society’s fringes,” Kazondana said.
