Where is Kaptein Witbooi's sjambok?
OPINION
Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi is most likely mentally deranged.
His reckless utterances this week that the Swapo Party government is "persecuting and discriminating against non-Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians, especially Nama-speaking Namibians" are outrageous, balderdash and outright nonsensical.
And as if such allegations were not absurd enough, his frantic attempts to call on US President Donald Trump to intervene by sending military troops to rescue him amount to overthrowing our constitutional order. There must be consequences for such reckless remarks. Our peace and stability are too precious and priceless to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
Where is Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi's sjambok? As leader of LPM, Swartbooi is a member of parliament, the highest law-making body in the country. Its members serve with honour and integrity.
When he was sworn in as an MP, he swore under oath: "I hereby swear or solemnly affirm that I will be faithful to the Republic of Namibia and its people, and I solemnly promise to uphold and defend the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Namibia to the best of my ability. So help me God."
That oath compels him to responsibly value and behave, dressed up in honest, truthful and faithful outfits worth his integrity and the huge responsibilities that come with the office he holds. By uttering such lies – and he knows he is lying through his teeth – and calling on foreign forces to "intervene", he has shredded to smithereens the Constitution of Namibia, the very supreme law that has held us together for 35 solid years.
Tribal and ethnic divisions were the main reasons pre-colonial resistance didn't succeed in defeating colonialism.
Having realised this setback, it was Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi who reached out to other nationalists in the north, such as Nehale Lya Mpingana, to unite and fight as one.
Sam Nujoma and other leaders of his generation took up that call seriously and relentlessly fought to unite all Namibians under the banner of Swapo. Through the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, PLAN, Namibians took up arms and gave their lives to bring about Namibia’s independence on 21st March 1990. It was a long walk, walked by our brave sons and daughters soaked in blood and sweat, united as Namibians. Namibia's independence was their shared mission – a mission fused into patriotism.
On Independence Day, Founding President Sam Nujoma said: "On this solemn and historic occasion, our nation blazed the trail to freedom... Taking the destiny of this country in our own hands means, among other things, making a great effort to forge national identity and unity. Our collective security and prosperity depend on our unity of purpose and action. Unity is a pre-condition for peace and development. Without peace, it is not possible for the best and talented citizens of our country to realise their potential."
The sacred souls of Sam Nujoma, Hendrick Witbooi, Theo-Ben Gurirab, Moses Garoeb, Nico Bessinger, Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, and many other long-departed heroes must be spinning in their graves to see that 35 years after independence, we still have political odd numbers in our midst stuck against our national unity.
Before the Bernadus Swartboois of today multiply, we must clip their wings for those legends to continue resting in eternal peace. We owe it to history and posterity to do so. Succeeding generations will only enjoy peace and stability when and if such toxic voices are legally silenced mercilessly.
Bernadus Swartbooi was the governor of //Kharas Region. He rose to the rank of deputy minister in a country where "non-Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians are persecuted and discriminated against."
We fail to make that make sense. As a member of parliament, Swartbooi should not be allowed to run his mouth recklessly and get away with it. Our peace and stability must be jealously guarded and protected with all the legal means at our disposal.
Law enforcement agencies must seriously examine and investigate those reckless allegations, coming as they do from a member of parliament. On his part, Swartbooi is no longer fit to be a parliamentarian. True, on the eve of the elections, he is desperate and politically starved of support.
But that is not a reason to be reckless. He must retract his utterances and apologise to the nation for the harm he has caused. Failure to do so means one thing: Swartbooi holds his lies dear and his parliamentary office, with all its oaths, cheap. It takes lives, blood and sweat to unite and build a nation. But it takes one idiot to ruin all that.
Swartbooi never stops to amaze. Quite recently, Swartbooi shocked all and sundry when he, on the floor of the National Assembly, publicly supported and sided with Israel in its daily acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. Yet, the same Swartbooi is passionate about reparations over the Herero-Nama genocide committed by Germany between 1904 and 1908. We still fail to make this make sense.
Maybe it's borderline personality disorder that is taking its toll on Swartbooi. But still, that, too, is not a good enough reason to ruin our peace and stability. Political tantrums must have consequences. Failure of courage should not define our resolve to defend what we hold dear – peace and stability. Nerves of steel should. That is how nations are built. We need Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi's sjambok.
*Asser Ntinda is special advisor to the prime minister. The views expressed here are his own, not necessarily those of the Office of the Prime Minister.
His reckless utterances this week that the Swapo Party government is "persecuting and discriminating against non-Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians, especially Nama-speaking Namibians" are outrageous, balderdash and outright nonsensical.
And as if such allegations were not absurd enough, his frantic attempts to call on US President Donald Trump to intervene by sending military troops to rescue him amount to overthrowing our constitutional order. There must be consequences for such reckless remarks. Our peace and stability are too precious and priceless to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
Where is Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi's sjambok? As leader of LPM, Swartbooi is a member of parliament, the highest law-making body in the country. Its members serve with honour and integrity.
When he was sworn in as an MP, he swore under oath: "I hereby swear or solemnly affirm that I will be faithful to the Republic of Namibia and its people, and I solemnly promise to uphold and defend the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Namibia to the best of my ability. So help me God."
That oath compels him to responsibly value and behave, dressed up in honest, truthful and faithful outfits worth his integrity and the huge responsibilities that come with the office he holds. By uttering such lies – and he knows he is lying through his teeth – and calling on foreign forces to "intervene", he has shredded to smithereens the Constitution of Namibia, the very supreme law that has held us together for 35 solid years.
Tribal and ethnic divisions were the main reasons pre-colonial resistance didn't succeed in defeating colonialism.
Having realised this setback, it was Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi who reached out to other nationalists in the north, such as Nehale Lya Mpingana, to unite and fight as one.
Sam Nujoma and other leaders of his generation took up that call seriously and relentlessly fought to unite all Namibians under the banner of Swapo. Through the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, PLAN, Namibians took up arms and gave their lives to bring about Namibia’s independence on 21st March 1990. It was a long walk, walked by our brave sons and daughters soaked in blood and sweat, united as Namibians. Namibia's independence was their shared mission – a mission fused into patriotism.
On Independence Day, Founding President Sam Nujoma said: "On this solemn and historic occasion, our nation blazed the trail to freedom... Taking the destiny of this country in our own hands means, among other things, making a great effort to forge national identity and unity. Our collective security and prosperity depend on our unity of purpose and action. Unity is a pre-condition for peace and development. Without peace, it is not possible for the best and talented citizens of our country to realise their potential."
The sacred souls of Sam Nujoma, Hendrick Witbooi, Theo-Ben Gurirab, Moses Garoeb, Nico Bessinger, Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, and many other long-departed heroes must be spinning in their graves to see that 35 years after independence, we still have political odd numbers in our midst stuck against our national unity.
Before the Bernadus Swartboois of today multiply, we must clip their wings for those legends to continue resting in eternal peace. We owe it to history and posterity to do so. Succeeding generations will only enjoy peace and stability when and if such toxic voices are legally silenced mercilessly.
Bernadus Swartbooi was the governor of //Kharas Region. He rose to the rank of deputy minister in a country where "non-Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians are persecuted and discriminated against."
We fail to make that make sense. As a member of parliament, Swartbooi should not be allowed to run his mouth recklessly and get away with it. Our peace and stability must be jealously guarded and protected with all the legal means at our disposal.
Law enforcement agencies must seriously examine and investigate those reckless allegations, coming as they do from a member of parliament. On his part, Swartbooi is no longer fit to be a parliamentarian. True, on the eve of the elections, he is desperate and politically starved of support.
But that is not a reason to be reckless. He must retract his utterances and apologise to the nation for the harm he has caused. Failure to do so means one thing: Swartbooi holds his lies dear and his parliamentary office, with all its oaths, cheap. It takes lives, blood and sweat to unite and build a nation. But it takes one idiot to ruin all that.
Swartbooi never stops to amaze. Quite recently, Swartbooi shocked all and sundry when he, on the floor of the National Assembly, publicly supported and sided with Israel in its daily acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. Yet, the same Swartbooi is passionate about reparations over the Herero-Nama genocide committed by Germany between 1904 and 1908. We still fail to make this make sense.
Maybe it's borderline personality disorder that is taking its toll on Swartbooi. But still, that, too, is not a good enough reason to ruin our peace and stability. Political tantrums must have consequences. Failure of courage should not define our resolve to defend what we hold dear – peace and stability. Nerves of steel should. That is how nations are built. We need Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi's sjambok.
*Asser Ntinda is special advisor to the prime minister. The views expressed here are his own, not necessarily those of the Office of the Prime Minister.
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