We need action on Kazenambo, Mr President

Johannes T. Kangandjera writes
Allow me space in your newspaper to voice my opinion and objection on the issue of Kazenambo Kazenambo’s latest tribal and ethnic attacks on a Journalist in particular and the Ovambos in general.

I would first of all like to dissect and comment on the statements made by Alfredo Hengari in his column post scriptum in The Namibian edition of Friday 17 February 2012 before I argue my case.

After reading the column by Hengari, my conclusion seems to suggest that Hengari is defending Kazenambo Kazenambo’s stance on ethnicity and tribalism. If one fails to read between the lines, it appears as if Hengari justify the attack by Kazenambo on the Ovambos. I quote “It is why Kazenambo has been extremely useful and relevant in our political life by raising issues of justice outside their dangerous and egoistic status quo”.

This statement and his comparison of Kazenambo with Martin Luther King Jr. if not challenged seem to elevate a Racist to the status of, Hero of the Civil Rights of the minority. He further stated that Kazenambo, “ as a Minister, he has made it and should put himself first and not the broader substantive issue of justice that should guide public life and action”.

I would argue that as a Minister, Kazenambo has made the following Oath or Affirmation before he took Office, I quote "I, Kazenmbo Kazenmbo do hereby swear/solemnly affirm, that I will strive to the best of my ability to uphold, protect and defend as the Supreme Law the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, and faithfully to obey, execute and administer the laws of the Republic of Namibia”.

In the final analysis, Kazenambo has repudiated his duty as a Minister of the Republic of Namibia in so far as the above Oath or Affirmation is concerned and I would expect an Academic like Hengari to have pointed this out. Academics play a crucial role in educating our Nation, I quote Alexactus T. Kaure in “The Interface between Language and Knowledge’, The Namibian, December 16, 2011 where he said ” We the columnists and other opinion writers have to make sure that we get our logic and thus the structure of our arguments right, which is quite a tall order. I see the problem of logical thinking as a challenge for many of us”.

In line with the above statement by Kaure, I would have further expected an Academic like Hengari to have thought about the impact of his statements above and in questions, on the letter and spirit of the Namibian people and the constitution, in particular the Ovambos before he can publicly justify demeaning racial attacks by a Racist against a tribal group.

To compare the statements Kazenambo has made against a Journalist and the one against the Ovambos, would be like comparing apples with pears because in the latter, the attack was generally directed towards a people, a tribal group and Namibian citizens in an official capacity.

I would, like many others argue that Kazenambo should be removed from office by the President with immediate effect. I will be disenchanted if President Hifikepunye Pohamba fails to do the right thing right.

This tribal attack requires action Mr. President. This is the testing moment of the Oath you took when you became President on 21 March 2005 and again on 21 March 2010. I quote what the President has said, "I Hifikepunye Pohamba do hereby swear/solemnly affirm, that I will strive to the best of my ability to uphold, protect and defend as the Supreme Law the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, and faithfully to obey, execute and administer the laws of the Republic of Namibia;

That I will protect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and the material and spiritual resources of the Republic of Namibia; and
That I will endeavor to the best of my ability to ensure justice for all the inhabitants of the Republic of Namibia”. my emphasis on the last sentence of the Oath.

I request as a Namibian citizen and if allowed demand, that the President make an example with Kazenambo like the Founding Father has done with three Ministers during his reign on acts of division and ethnicity.

The President should not be guided by the public opinion that, firing Kazenambo in his capacity as a Herero Namibian would make Kazenambo and many who think like him arrive at their own conclusion that he was fired by an Ovambo President for racially attacking Ovambos but rather, that as a Minister of the Republic of Namibia, he repudiated his duty, the laws of the Republic and its constitution and is not fit and competent for the public office he holds. Enough is enough.