Patience Makwele
Marshall Ranger Sean Naude’s remarks that authorities would have recovered 15-year-old Erwin Bezuidenhoudt’s remains sooner had he been a “wambo child” have ignited a debate over tribalism, privilege and whether race has any place in the teenager’s prolonged search.
Bezuidenhout reportedly drowned at the Platz am Meer marina in Swakopmund in July, and his remains have not yet been recovered.
Naude, who has been involved in the search ever since, took to Facebook on Monday to vent his frustration over delays in accessing rocks where the search team believes the teenager’s remains could be trapped.
“If it was a wambo child that drowned at the waterfront in Swakopmund and I said that he might be under the rocks possibly, we would have been done and dusted long ago,” Naude wrote.
He also suggested the response would have been different had the child been the son of a government official or another prominent figure.
“If it was a government official’s child or any other prominent figure and I said we suspect the child is trapped under a man made structure, we would have also long ago been done and dusted without delays or hesitations,” he said.
Naude further questioned who authorised the marina structures and whether a private development could have been built on government property and within national waters.
But it was his tribal remarks that drew particular attention.
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes said he disagreed with Naude’s assessment, arguing that the delays point to weaknesses within Namibia’s emergency-response system rather than tribal discrimination.
“I don’t think tribe or race was necessary in that comment,” Johannes said.
He pointed to previous drowning cases where searches also took time.
“I think that’s a weakness of the system. It’s a weakness of ours, you know, people were supposed to do the work. They’re the ones who are failing us,” he said.
Meanwhile political analyst Joubert Harushando said Naude’s frustration was understandable, but questioned what evidence existed to support the tribal claim.
“Frustration does not automatically make the tribal explanation valid,” Harushando said.
He said that without evidence, Naude’s statement moves beyond criticism of government performance into speculation about motive.
“If there is no evidence, then saying ‘if it was a wambo child, we would have been done and dusted’ moves from criticism of government performance into speculation about motive,” he said.
Harushando warned that this could ultimately weaken the accountability questions surrounding the search.
“Instead of forcing authorities to answer ‘Why wasn’t this area searched?’, the public conversation becomes ‘Are you racist or tribalist?’ That is a much easier argument for institutions to avoid,” he said.
Also speaking to this publication, political commentator Alex Murangi said the issue should instead be viewed through the broader performance of Namibia’s emergency services.
“I am not implying that if (a) child from Oshikoto, //Kharas, Kavango, Zambezi or Erongo experiences the same failure, then we don’t have tribalism. This is the government failing to provide the same attention equally – a problem we have as a Namibian nation,” Murangi said.
He, however, said claims of unequal treatment should not be dismissed if evidence eventually emerges showing that some communities consistently receive poorer or slower emergency services.
“The evidence has to come first,” Murangi said.
Naude’s remarks have also triggered a backlash on social media, with one activist calling for him to be removed from voluntary rescue services and announcing that a petition was being prepared.
Harushando cautioned against equating controversial remarks with incompetence as a rescuer.
“Being angry, frustrated or controversial does not automatically make somebody incompetent at rescue work. Mr Naude has been a loyal and dedicated volunteer rescuer for ages. As a nation, we must not forget that before taking it to social media demanding for petitions. Even if you remove him from his role of being a marshal ranger, he will still continue to rescue people or families will still come back looking for him. He is a man who has gained so many’s trust and respect,” he said.
Naude, meanwhile, maintains that the search team has been left waiting for action and that political leaders who made promises to Bezuidenhoudt’s family and the team, have since gone silent.
“Our nation as a whole should be ashamed of how little we care, when a child is a child of the nation regardless of colour, culture or tribe,” he wrote.
