Geingob lashes out at ‘warmongers’

JEMIMA BEUKES



WINDHOEK

President Hage Geingob has not taken lightly to those questioning the manner in which the Namibian and Botswana governments are handling the shooting of Namibian fishermen by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) last year.

Responding to sentiments by Namibians that the two governments are not remorseful enough over the shootings, Geingob asked whether Namibians want a war.

He made the remarks on Friday at State House during the official visit by Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi.

In this case, he retorted, he would recruit young men, trained by himself, to start a war in Botswana.

“Do you want a war? What else do you want? Let us not use these things so loosely. You are second-guessing us… we are not feeling too much. Must we sit and cry to show that we care?

“The presidents stood here and said we regret and extended our condolences, what more do you want?” Geingob asked.

‘Namibian Lives Matter’

Masisi, who was met by protesters holding ‘Namibian Lives Matter’ banners upon his arrival in Windhoek, said his government regrets the incident and would have been the first to reverse it if they could.

“I refuse to be drawn into the internal dynamics of Namibia, which I respect as a sovereign country. But it is true that I have expressed regret at the loss of lives. I even repeated it here to say one life lost is one life too many.

“If we could unwind time and be able to prevent it, I would be among the first the prevent it,” he said.

Masisi added that not only Namibians were affected by this loss, but that the fishermen were related of a chief in Botswana.

As such, a team of ministers were dispatched to the area to make calm the people in Botswana, he said.

“That is one of the ways you quell what might be a situation which could lead to incidents that could escalate to what the president [Geingob] described. We don’t want that. We don’t want it,” he said.

Investigation concluded

Meanwhile, Masisi said the joint investigation into the shooting has been concluded and handed over to the authorities in both countries.

“As is the case with Botswana where the incident took place, there is a judicial process and, unfortunately, for the time being, the matter is sub judice.

“There is a process that is still to be completed in Botswana which dictates, and I would advise strongly, that the report not be made public until so authorised by a competent court,” he said.

Protection, not war

The Namibian Lives Matter movement condemned Geingob’s ‘don’t care attitude’ and said the Namibian state machinery is in denial.

In a statement, the movement’s national executive chairperson Sinvula Mudabeti said the time for putting politics above their ancestral land is over.

“We never asked for war, we asked for protection! We never insulted the president, we cautioned him against speaking on behalf of another country,” he said.

“We never disrespected the president, we corrected him to honour the oath of office he took! And we never asked to be trained for war, we asked him to remain a president of Namibia!

“We want the autopsy report and the investigation report. Mr President, you will hear us soon.”

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