Namibia flip-flops on ICC

International relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says withdrawing or staying in the International Criminal Court (ICC) is not on Namibia's mind at this point.She said yesterday the ICC is not “one of our debates”.Nandi-Ndaitwah also claimed ignorance of Namibia's plans to leave the ICC.“Have we ever said we are going to withdraw? Which indications were there that we are going to withdraw?” she asked. In August, President Hage Geingob told a French broadcaster he would never testify in a foreign court, which is why he is opposed to the ICC, as Namibia has its own institutions. Geingob was responding to an unfolding French investigation into allegations of corruption linked to the sale of UraMin to French state-owned nuclear giant Areva in 2007.Areva, now called Orano, paid US$2.5 billion for UraMin, which owned the Trekkopje uranium mine in Namibia and other mineral rights in South Africa and the Central African Republic (CAR).Areva later admitted it overpaid for UraMin, which was worth only half the price.Geingob has declared to parliament that he was paid N$3 million as a consultant to help UraMin renew its licence in Namibia, before it was sold to Areva.Radio France Internationale (RFI) claimed in April the probe is also looking into 5.6 billion euro paid to Namibia's United Africa Group from 2009 to 2010 and 8 000 euro paid from 2008 to 2009 to Geingob. Geingob has strongly denied any corruption accusations.“The alleged corruption concerns the conduct of Areva and/or UraMin and does not implicate Dr Geingob or the government of the republic of Namibia,” the president's lawyer, Sisa Namandje, said in a letter to RFI in April, while also demanding a retraction.Namandje also explained that any sums paid to Geingob were for “advisory work at UraMin”, not by Areva, and was undertaken before his appointment as trade minister in 2008.In 2015, the cabinet approved a recommendation by Swapo to withdraw Namibia from the ICC.Responding to the president's comment to the French broadcaster, Nandi-Ndaitwah said yesterday: “If the president says we have our institutions, does that imply that we are withdrawing? We are just saying it is there, but we know we have our own institutions, we don't need it [the ICC].”She added that Namibia joined the ICC because at the time the country did not have the requisite legal institutions. “Currently we have our functional institutions.”Since taking office in 2015, Geingob has expressed his willingness to sever Namibia's ties with the ICC, claiming it has unfairly targeted African leaders. Geingob told Reuters in 2016 that Namibia would withdraw from ICC in March that year. “People are saying that it only targets African leaders. That seems to be true... and that's a problem,” Geingob said at the time.He has also repeatedly said Africa needs to develop its own processes, systems, courts and institutions, in order to become self-sustainable. “It would help us to be self-sufficient. We must build lasting institutions... not something imposed from foreign countries.”Last year, South Africa announced it would withdraw from the ICC, and even began processes to do so. However, Nandi-Ndaitwah's South African counterpart Lindiwe Sisulu recently said her government was revisiting its decision to withdraw and would rather look at the way the court works, rather than leave it. Sisulu said the country played a role in setting up the ICC, because it saw the need to end impunity and hold human rights violators accountable.JEMIMA BEUKES

Namibia flip-flops on ICC

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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Namibia flip-flops on ICC

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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