Military vehicles should not cause panic

The Ministry of Defence said all movements of military vehicles seen driving in convoys in Windhoek are all for benevolent purposes and has nothing to do with the dramatic events in neighbouring Zimbabwe, as some people may have – however far-fetched – surmised.

Information received on Tuesday was that a large convoy of seemingly support vehicles of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) have been moving north via the Western Bypass in Windhoek.

Later, by midday, another large convoy of armoured vehicles was seen on the Western Bypass.

Another convoy of trucks carrying Jeeps were driving down Sam Nujoma Avenue in Klein Windhoek towards the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA).

The acting head of public relations in the defence ministry, Major Petrus Shilumbu, said the convoy seen along the Western Bypass consisted of a new consignment of military vehicles deployed and dispatched from Windhoek to their respective units.

Shilumbu said the military vehicles seen weeks ago along the Sam Nujoma Drive belong to Botswana. These vehicles were in transit at Botswana's dry port in Walvis Bay and were being transported to Botswana.

“There is nothing going on in Namibia,” Shilumbu responded to a comment that the presence of the military vehicles on the roads could possibly hint at a military take-over by contesting factions within the ruling Swapo Party.

Shilumbu added: “People should stop spreading rumours and the Ministry of Defence hereby assures the Namibian nation not to panic. It is not the first time such convoys are observed and the convoys should not be connected to any political development in the country.”

Catherine Sasman