Presidency washes hands of New Era saga

The Office of the President has distanced itself from the suspension of New Era managing editor Johnathan Beukes, saying it did not influence the decision, nor was it aware of it in advance.

Speaking on The Evening Review yesterday, presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari said President Hage Geingob did not influence the decision to suspend Beukes, who was shown the door after publishing a series of articles questioning the transparency of appointing judges for the country's high and supreme courts.

On recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, Geingob recently appointed Zimbabwean-born judge Moses Chinhengo, who will preside over the Fishrot trial, to the High Court.

This prompted news articles in New Era, questioning what procedures were followed. An editorial on the same subject in the newspaper last Friday was the final straw, and got Beukes suspended.

Hengari said Geingob is committed to maintaining the freedom of the press as head of state and a former freedom fighter.

“No one should harbour such assumptions [that the president influenced the decision to suspend Beukes], because it is not true. President Geingob respects the rule of law and is a champion of constitutionalism. On the president’s appointment of judges, they come on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission,” Hengari said.

“The president signs and the appointment is made. We all know President Geingob, being a champion of transparency, communicates openly,” he added.

Commitment to press freedom

The rights of media practitioners remain protected while Geingob is still president, Hengari maintained.

“His commitment to press freedom is total. The president would emphasise that for as long as he is president, no journalist will be arrested, and no journalist will be threatened. We may have differences, but we will never threaten; we will not ask a journalist not to write this, not to write that,” he said.

“I can assure you, we [were] not aware and we do not have the back story,” he continued.

Secretive

Namibia Media Professionals Union (Nampu) acting secretary-general Jemima Beukes condemned the suspension, saying the rights of media practitioners ought to be protected.

“We demand that the rights of media professionals to report freely and independently be respected and protected. Furthermore, we urge the government and all stakeholders to safeguard the independence of the press and respect the critical role journalists play in our society,” she said.

Last week, political formations - including the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) and the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement - questioned Chinhengo’s appointment, particularly what they termed the ‘secretive nature’ of the appointment of judges in Namibia, a process wherein transparency is almost non-existent.