JOURNALIST Max Hamata of The Namibian newspaper was assaulted by the Special Field Force (SFF) of the Namibian police while he was trying to investigate an alleged drug bust at a Windhoek nightclub in the early hours of Thursday morning, December 13. Hamata said that he was informed about the drug bust when received a call from a member of the public at about 24h00 on Wednesday, December 12. According to Hamata, upon arrival at the nightclub he immediately attempted to approach the police to find out what was happening. He was, however, never given a chance to identify himself as a journalist before the officers grabbed him by the neck and demanded to have his camera. Despite his attempts to explain that he had not taken any pictures Hamata was punched on the mouth by a policeman who accused him of taking photos. He sustained minor facial injuries. Hamata said he was then shoved into a police vehicle and taken to the Windhoek police station where he was detained for about three hours before being released. “This is not the first time. I have to set a standard here. These guys are a unit of bandits”, he said. According to Hamata, he’s been promised a parade during which he will be able to identify the officers who had attacked him. – Misa