Don’t distort the history of Caprivi

Mulife Muchali writes: Allow me to react after reading Dr Charles Mubita’s column titled ‘Ya Nangoloh Capsizing in Zambezi Politics’ of February 7, 2014 that is pot-holed with baseless speculations and claims. Surprisingly, Mubita has opted to attack a Namibian citizen, NamRights Executive Director Phil Ya Nangoloh, and spared a "fellow" Caprivian national, Dr John Lilemba, who made the same statements. Why? Is it because blood is thicker than water? What is the difference between “Caprivi is not part of Namibia” and “…he could not prove that the Zambezi Region (formerly Caprivi Region) is part of Namibia.” No doubt, he is quite calculating! Is it because Lilemba has done his homework and can take him to task and see who has done his reading and proper research? Or am I the only one over-reading the biased un-researched blank statements made by Mubita? Caprivians will tell you what they think you want to know in order to cement some “fake” patriotism – no wonder Kasikili was taken from Namibia, so can it be for the Caprivi Strip if Namibia relies on their ill-advice peppered with half-truth. Mubita states that “In 1890, Count Leo von Caprivi arranged for the annexation of the [Caprivi Strip] Zambezi Region to German South West Africa.” Is he somehow suggesting that the Caprivi Strip must be returned to its original “state” of Barotseland as was the case of Walvis Bay? Simply, why not allow Caprivians to decide on what they want – statehood or being part of Namibia? That is no crime. More of his half-baked truths: Mubita claims that nowhere in Namibian history is it recorded that anyone has questioned the integrality of the Caprivi Strip to Namibia. Is this some kind of joke? Why was Mishake Muyongo expelled from Swapo together with the likes of Ernest Likando, Sibeya Simasiku, Lemmy Matengu, and many other Caprivians – was it not because they wanted to revive their earlier liberation goal of liberating the Caprivi Strip via CANU? Or did Mubita miss that fact? Further contradictions: all along CANU had claimed that the fate of the Caprivi Strip would have to be decided after Apartheid South Africa was defeated with Namibian independence. That was the time the issue of the Caprivi Strip should have been resolved. So, were Muyongo and those other CANU activists barred from playing their part in an independent Namibia until the political question of the Caprivi was resolved? No! Muyongo had the right to be one of the founding fathers of the Namibian Constitution after having been elected to parliament, and when Caprivians want to decide on their political destiny, they should be accorded that opportunity. What happened, even before the Namibian government had familiarised itself with the facts of false rumours that were reported by New Era in 1998, the Secretary to Cabinet was already “screaming” high treason – was it wrong to debate the issue in a democratic environment? No! Even if Caprivians would have said “no” in a referendum, would Muyongo have forced the issue? On this one, don’t base your answer on what happened on August 2, 1999 – that was the by-product of a lot of things – lies and more lies - that triggered the uprising. As for Caprivian spies, why doesn’t Mubita tell us if Ernest Likando and team were also spies, so are countless of Caprivians that were killed by Swapo. A few of my friends like Michael Mavwali, Ardo Simataa (son-in-law to Dr Richard Kamwi) found themselves in Swapo dungeons; were they spies? Sadly, Oscar Wakumela, Felix Musisanyani, Phelerm Mwazi, John Lubanda, Michael Sinvula and Edwin Mwiya never lived to tell their story. Muyongo is lucky to be alive. In a nutshell, if Mubita wants to be credible, I would advise him to tell Namibians the whole story of the rise of CANU, don’t bury the truth! Lastly, Dr Mubita, those who were involved with CANU are still alive, don't be an opportunist, do proper research and present your findings – not hallucinating with made-up stories. All in all, Mubita has no clue of what he is talking about.