We are not becoming a police state – Kawana
Police minister Albert Kawana has poured cold water over fears that Namibia is becoming a police state where social justice activists are targeted for arrests and harassment.
The regular arrests of Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) economic commissar Michael Amushelelo and the detainment of Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement activists at Tsumeb on Saturday have unsettled the country, with police urged to exercise restraint in recognition of residents' fundamental rights.
The fact that those arrested are political adversaries of Swapo - and are often arrested while fighting for the rights of the downtrodden, those left at the mistreatment of their employers - has only heightened accusations and perceptions that the police is now being used to silence perceived enemies of the ruling party.
Amushelelo and AR co-founder Dimbulukeni Nauyoma spent months in jail after they were arrested in May 2022 after the former threatened to close down Chinatown, a shopping complex in Windhoek that sells low-quality products.
Ironically, six other people who were slapped with the same charges as the two men - but who hold no political office - were not kept in custody, which prompted accusations that both the police and the courts were being used to fight political battles.
Amushelelo went on to be arrested three more times, all of them this year, while standing in solidarity with workers. He was arrested in January when he stood with protesting employees of Craft Bistro in Windhoek, and in Walvis Bay the same month while standing in solidarity with Shoprite workers during a demonstration.
He was arrested again in February after participating in a public demonstration by City of Windhoek street cleaners who emptied rubbish bins onto streets in the city centre while demanding better working conditions.
Over the weekend in Tsumeb, AR activists Johannes Johannes and Josiah Pomwene as well as two other people - identified as Matues Malesu and Aune Siteketa - were arrested at a gathering originally convened as a press conference, but where community members also showed up to get an update about issues related to the Kap-en-Bou farm at the town.
The four appeared in court yesterday and were all granted bail of N$1 000 each. They have been charged with public violence and police assault.
Human rights violations
This prompted AR’s interim chairperson for the Erongo Region, Knowledge Ndunge Ipinge, to write a letter to Kawana denouncing what he termed serious human rights violations, oppression of social justice activists and abuse of power by certain elements within the police.
Ipinge said police officers continue to “strongly identify with disgraced politicians and white monopoly capital apologists”.
“It’s very tragic to witness [the Namibian Police] degenerating to barbaric abuse of power similar to the apartheid police’s brutality tactics, which can be traced back to the 10 December 1959 massacre, considering the degree to which [the police] is adopting an anarchistic arrest culture and driving political agendas of white monopoly apologists over the past weeks,” the letter read in part.
In a telephonic interview with Namibian Sun yesterday, Kawana dismissed the concerns about social activists being ‘oppressed’ by police officers and thrown in jail every other week.
“I wouldn’t use the word oppression. That ended when Namibia gained independence from being a German colony... In a free Namibia, there is no such a thing as oppression,” he said.
He added that Article 21 of fundamental freedoms in the Namibian Constitution clearly states that “all persons shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms”.
“This means they can demonstrate without arms - spears, knives or guns. A person demonstrating peacefully and not inciting violence, they are protected by the law,” Kawana said.
The minister added that some activists use violence and demand entry to private establishments - whether people like it or not - and they end up closing shops.
“What about the right of those who want to enter the shop and buy their items?” he questioned.
Kawana further said the police mandate is very clear - to maintain law and order, not to solve labour disputes.
‘Not here to solve labour issues’
“You are inciting violence and the police need to be called in to maintain law and order. The police have nothing to do with labour matters. We are not labour inspectors. Let the labour ministry attend to that as well as trade unions.
“Us, we will just make sure the rights of the employees and that of the employer are respected without taking sides,” he said.
He added that demonstrators must comply with instructions from the police and avoid intimidation.
– [email protected]
The regular arrests of Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) economic commissar Michael Amushelelo and the detainment of Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement activists at Tsumeb on Saturday have unsettled the country, with police urged to exercise restraint in recognition of residents' fundamental rights.
The fact that those arrested are political adversaries of Swapo - and are often arrested while fighting for the rights of the downtrodden, those left at the mistreatment of their employers - has only heightened accusations and perceptions that the police is now being used to silence perceived enemies of the ruling party.
Amushelelo and AR co-founder Dimbulukeni Nauyoma spent months in jail after they were arrested in May 2022 after the former threatened to close down Chinatown, a shopping complex in Windhoek that sells low-quality products.
Ironically, six other people who were slapped with the same charges as the two men - but who hold no political office - were not kept in custody, which prompted accusations that both the police and the courts were being used to fight political battles.
Amushelelo went on to be arrested three more times, all of them this year, while standing in solidarity with workers. He was arrested in January when he stood with protesting employees of Craft Bistro in Windhoek, and in Walvis Bay the same month while standing in solidarity with Shoprite workers during a demonstration.
He was arrested again in February after participating in a public demonstration by City of Windhoek street cleaners who emptied rubbish bins onto streets in the city centre while demanding better working conditions.
Over the weekend in Tsumeb, AR activists Johannes Johannes and Josiah Pomwene as well as two other people - identified as Matues Malesu and Aune Siteketa - were arrested at a gathering originally convened as a press conference, but where community members also showed up to get an update about issues related to the Kap-en-Bou farm at the town.
The four appeared in court yesterday and were all granted bail of N$1 000 each. They have been charged with public violence and police assault.
Human rights violations
This prompted AR’s interim chairperson for the Erongo Region, Knowledge Ndunge Ipinge, to write a letter to Kawana denouncing what he termed serious human rights violations, oppression of social justice activists and abuse of power by certain elements within the police.
Ipinge said police officers continue to “strongly identify with disgraced politicians and white monopoly capital apologists”.
“It’s very tragic to witness [the Namibian Police] degenerating to barbaric abuse of power similar to the apartheid police’s brutality tactics, which can be traced back to the 10 December 1959 massacre, considering the degree to which [the police] is adopting an anarchistic arrest culture and driving political agendas of white monopoly apologists over the past weeks,” the letter read in part.
In a telephonic interview with Namibian Sun yesterday, Kawana dismissed the concerns about social activists being ‘oppressed’ by police officers and thrown in jail every other week.
“I wouldn’t use the word oppression. That ended when Namibia gained independence from being a German colony... In a free Namibia, there is no such a thing as oppression,” he said.
He added that Article 21 of fundamental freedoms in the Namibian Constitution clearly states that “all persons shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms”.
“This means they can demonstrate without arms - spears, knives or guns. A person demonstrating peacefully and not inciting violence, they are protected by the law,” Kawana said.
The minister added that some activists use violence and demand entry to private establishments - whether people like it or not - and they end up closing shops.
“What about the right of those who want to enter the shop and buy their items?” he questioned.
Kawana further said the police mandate is very clear - to maintain law and order, not to solve labour disputes.
‘Not here to solve labour issues’
“You are inciting violence and the police need to be called in to maintain law and order. The police have nothing to do with labour matters. We are not labour inspectors. Let the labour ministry attend to that as well as trade unions.
“Us, we will just make sure the rights of the employees and that of the employer are respected without taking sides,” he said.
He added that demonstrators must comply with instructions from the police and avoid intimidation.
– [email protected]
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