'We're treated like animals'

Two of the nine opposition parties in parliament – the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the All People's Party (APP) – have received a petition from the Namibia War Veterans Trust (Namvet) in which they are requested to support the former soldiers' request for recognition from the Namibian government.Otherwise, the former soldiers warned, they and their family members would turn their backs on opposition parties at the polling stations next year.“Opposition parties have allowed us to be humiliated, discriminated against and to live in economic apartheid imposed by the ruling Swapo Party. Therefore, we are demanding from opposition political parties to advocate for these changes before 1 December. Failure to do so will mean that we will disassociate from them and we will withdraw our support from them,” the Namvet petition reads. Namvet's initial plan was to march from the Red Flag Commando Hall in Katutura to the National Assembly, but the ex-soldiers instead walked on Wednesday to Wernhil Park in central Windhoek where they handed over the petition to the two political parties.Namvet reiterated that the Veterans' Act only benefits former PLAN fighters while leaving out former SWATF and Koevoet members, most of whom had been conscripted to fight in the pre-independence war. The Namvet soldiers say their exclusion is deliberate and disregards constitutional provisions that prohibit discriminatory laws. They emphasise that the laws of the country should apply to everyone.They say they were deliberately not integrated into the Namibia Defence Force (NDF), which consists primarily of former PLAN members.“The integration of ex-PLAN and ex-SWATF/Koevoet could have played an important role in promoting future stability in the country,” the petition states. The Namvet petition again proposes the enactment of a Military Veterans' Act that should cater for all war veterans and compensate former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers and their families for the losses and humiliation they suffered. Namvet says such legislation should also make provision for counselling for veterans and help to reintegrate them into society.The former soldiers further ask for adequate health and psychiatric care, as well as home-based care for those who were wounded in the war. Marius Goraseb, receiving the Namvet petition on behalf of the APP, said the party had in the past expressed support for the recognition of former SWATF and Koevoet members, and the issue was contained in its 2014 election manifesto.“It is unfair that these former soldiers are being sidelined from the mainstream economy of the country. Founding President Sam Nujoma professed national reconciliation in 1990. In a modern-day Namibia we cannot live in a society when people are branded for what they have done in the past,” Goraseb said.PDM's secretary-general, Manuel Ngaringombe, said his party was busy with a number of other national matters but would discuss Namvet's demands.

'We're treated like animals'

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-30

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'We're treated like animals'

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-30

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