PRESS RELEASE

Namibia’s human rights monitoring and advocacy organization, National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), deplores a spate of verbal attacks and shouting incendiary epithets against human rights defenders and media practitioners in the country. The attacks come from certain high-ranking leaders of the ruling SWAPO Party.

“During their rally held on Friday, February 15 2008, at the Eenhana town, SWAPO Vice President Dr. Hage Geingob accused the human rights organization of inter alia ‘planting agents’ in order to ‘see how many people are attending our rallies and then tell lies about it’. Dr. Geingob also used the opportunity to lay into the country’s media, accusing the latter of ‘weakening SWAPO’ and of ‘disrupting’ or ‘downplaying’ the achievements of the ‘SWAPO Party Government’. Dr. Geingob singled out English weekly Windhoek Observer Editor-in-Chief Hannes Smith as one of those who wrote ‘too much against the Government’ and who apparently deserved to be arrested but was ‘not arrested’”, said one of the three local human rights defenders who monitored the rally.

Geingob also attacked NSHR for exposing the conflict of interest in the meat deal involving Justice Minister and Attorney Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana. Ms. Ithana has been awarded a lucrative contract to sell meat to the Cabinet-controlled Namibia Wildlife Resorts.

Furthermore, NSHR once more condemns Government plans to impose a media council on the country’s media. Recently Information and Broadcasting Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said during a media brief that the Government was determined to impose a media council in the country. The media rejected the move. A Government-imposed media council is both counterproductive and blatantly contrary to the principles of human rights and freedoms embodied in the Namibian Constitution and in several regional and international treaties and declarations binding upon Namibia.

Meanwhile, NSHR also condemns sustained acts of provocation aimed at the supporters and members of newly established Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) Party. On February 15 2008, soon after the aforementioned rally, a small convoy of SWAPO Party members and supporters drove to Friends Bar and Restaurant at the said town. As usual, they engaged in hate speech and hurled other inflammatory tirades RDP supporters before members of the Namibian Police intervened timely.

Hon. Mandume Pohamba Regional Councilor for Ondobe Constituency, Mr. Hosea Shipanga SWAPO Party District Coordinator for the Eenhana Constituency as wells as SWAPO Party’s Eenhana Local Authority Councilor Wilhelm Shatimwene led the provocative convoy, local monitors said.

The incident took place at around 19h00. A disturbed Ms. Caroline Ndaoya (29), resident of Eenhana and who also witnessed the provocative conduct, urged SWAPO Party members and supporters to “stop behaving like undisciplined small children”.

In yet another incident of provocation on February 16 2008, another small group of SWAPO Party supporters nearly physically attacked a female RDP member at the Omuthiya town. Shouting inter alia “Dogs of Hidipo and Nyamu!” and “We will cut [RDP interim Secretary-General Jesaya] Nyamu’s tail off”, the unruly SWAPO Party supporters only dispersed after the Police intervened. The incident occurred at approximately 18h40 at the open market in town situated in the Oshikoto Region.

“While we sincerely took positive note of Dr. Geingob’s remarks at the said Eenhana rally, where he urged SWAPO Party members not to provoke members and supporters of rival parties but to ‘fight them only democratically’, we regret the fact that Geingob’s instruction apparently fell on deaf ears. As it appears, even the highest-ranking SWAPO Party leaders have no control over their members. What is next should this state of affairs be allowed to continue? The timely Police interventions are highly appreciated” said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh.

For additional comment, please contact: Dorkas Phillemon at Tel: 061 253 447 or 061 236 183 (office hours only) or Phil ya Nangoloh at Cell: 0811 299 886