Feeling cheated of a country

Ben Siyambango Nzehengwa, who claims to be the founder of a country known as Zambesia, says the Namibian and Botswana governments have cheated him and his people out of a country. Nzehengwa, who calls himself the general coordinator of the Movement for the Survival of the River Races in Zambesia, told Namibian Sun that the Caprivi Strip never existed and it belongs to the people of Zambesia. He bases his argument on ancient maps dating back to 1894, 1909, 1915, 1916, and 1919 which do not indicate the strip. Nzehengwa claims that the Caprivi Strip was a created by the former apartheid South African regime in order to create a military zone for its security. “There is no such a thing as Caprivi Strip because it is not supported by historical evidence,” he says. Nzehengwa says the boundary settlement between England and Germany was put at 20 degrees east of longitude. “If the strip was part of the German protectorate why would Germany sign an agreement with Great Britain for passage to the Zambezi River?” He says the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty of July 1, 1890 proves that the area known as the Caprivi Strip never belonged to Germany. “The former apartheid regime, and perhaps with the tactical approval of Great Britain, unilaterally extended the mandate of the former German Protectorate over South-West Africa to areas which were not part of the German Protectorate of South-West Africa as this has violated colonial boundaries in southern Africa,” he claims. Nzehengwa says his movement was appalled and extremely disappointed by the long jail sentences imposed on the 30 people convicted in the Caprivi treason trial. Concurring with Nzehengwa, NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh questioned why the Namibian government in June 1999, months before the secessionist attacks on government offices in Katima Mulilo, applied for the annexure of the Caprivi Strip to Namibia. “This means that from the time Namibia got its independence in 1990 until June 1999, the Namibian laws did not apply to the people of Caprivi,” he said. Ya Nangoloh said the 30 men convicted of treason were not supposed to be sentenced, as they were fighting for their independence and that was justifiable. “They were fighting for their independence just like Swapo was fighting for the independence of Namibia during the liberation struggle,” he said. The 30 men convicted of high treason and multiple counts of murder and attempted murder were sentenced to between three and 18 years in prison on December 9. KENYA KAMBOWE