EDITORIAL: Namibia cannot tiptoe around tribalism any longer
For as long as Namibia continues to pussyfoot around tribalism, the rotten apples among us will keep spewing their venom, issuing half-baked apologies only after their hate has already reached its intended targets. The latest episode involving Suzzy Kalimba is not an isolated eruption - it is a symptom of a national reluctance to confront tribalism with real consequences.
The very fact that someone can confidently film themselves uttering degrading remarks and upload them publicly, without a shred of fear, tells you everything about our current climate. These individuals know the script: unleash the hatred, watch it spread, let outrage trends simmer for 48 hours, then apologise - not out of remorse, but out of public-relations survival. Meanwhile, the victims, like Johanna Swartbooi this week, are left to carry the pain long after the country has moved on to the next scandal.
Our national pattern has become embarrassingly predictable. A tribal incident erupts, statements of condemnation are churned out from armchairs, and by Monday morning we have swept everything neatly under the carpet. Everyone then retreats into silence - only to dust off the last statement when the next storm breaks.
You cannot weed out tribalism by massaging it every time it rears its ugly head. You confront it with law and consequence.
South Africa offers a model we refuse to learn from. Their Equality Court, a dedicated mechanism to tackle hate speech, harassment, and unfair discrimination, convicted political giant Julius Malema in August for hate speech. They do not simply condemn hate - they penalise it.
In Namibia we issue statements and sprint into the sunset. Tribalism will not disappear because we wish it away. It will only fade when the cost of spreading hate becomes heavier than the thrill of recording it.
The very fact that someone can confidently film themselves uttering degrading remarks and upload them publicly, without a shred of fear, tells you everything about our current climate. These individuals know the script: unleash the hatred, watch it spread, let outrage trends simmer for 48 hours, then apologise - not out of remorse, but out of public-relations survival. Meanwhile, the victims, like Johanna Swartbooi this week, are left to carry the pain long after the country has moved on to the next scandal.
Our national pattern has become embarrassingly predictable. A tribal incident erupts, statements of condemnation are churned out from armchairs, and by Monday morning we have swept everything neatly under the carpet. Everyone then retreats into silence - only to dust off the last statement when the next storm breaks.
You cannot weed out tribalism by massaging it every time it rears its ugly head. You confront it with law and consequence.
South Africa offers a model we refuse to learn from. Their Equality Court, a dedicated mechanism to tackle hate speech, harassment, and unfair discrimination, convicted political giant Julius Malema in August for hate speech. They do not simply condemn hate - they penalise it.
In Namibia we issue statements and sprint into the sunset. Tribalism will not disappear because we wish it away. It will only fade when the cost of spreading hate becomes heavier than the thrill of recording it.
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Namibian Sun
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