Stefanus Nashama
The Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo says Namibia is not a banana republic, and the police will not allow anyone to be intimidated or beaten up by another person.
“No one should think Namibia is a banana republic, and no one should prevent the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni to conduct an official visit to Karasburg Town Council. We are there to maintain order, protect and provide safety for everyone, including the minister. Namibia has laws to protect every citizen of this country, chaos, and anarchy should not be entertained at all,” he warned.
Shikongo said this in response to the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) member, Ivan Skrywer who yesterday claimed the police in Karasburg and //Kharas Region prevented the communities to stage a demonstration to keep Minister Uutoni from undermining the elected political leadership while pushing his agenda.
Skrywer further claimed he has informed the Police Chief about the situation. In his written notification format, Skrywer stated: “I am calling you (Police Chief) in connection to the ticking time bomb in Karasburg, and //Kharas Region as a whole where the police have totally and full force entered the political arena. This is a very serious matter because the police are preventing our communities to have a demonstration against a very small-minded individual, a certain character called Erastus Uutoni who happened to be a minister by mistake.”
However, Shikongo yesterday said nobody from LPM talked to him. He only receives a notification from the //Kharas Station Commandor, Marius Katamila about the intention of LPM to hold a demonstration yesterday on unemployment.
He explained that the police then requested that LPM should do its demonstration on Friday, and if it is a peaceful demonstration, they should do it yesterday in the morning hours since Minister Uutoni was meeting with the Karasburg Town Council from 10h00.
“We never prevented LPM and the communities from the protest, the police only proposed for them to do it today which they rejected. I then gave an order to the Regional Commamndor that if it is a peaceful demonstration, they should do it on the same day (yesterday) morning hours and hand over their petition to avoid disruption with the minister’s official visit,” he stated.
The proposal from the police and the order from the Chief Police were to make sure the minister’s official visit to Karasburg Town Council is not disrupted and he is not beaten up, as LPM Parliamentarian Henny Seibeb made unnecessary remarks during the Parliament session this week Monday.
The Police serve to maintain law and order in local areas by protecting members of the public and their property, preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime, and improving the quality of life for all citizens. If they intended to prevent the minister from meeting the Karasburg Town Council, we shouldn’t allow it to happen, Shikongo said.
“Maybe they wanted to give the petition in the presence of the minister, we allowed them to do so in the morning,” he said.
Skrywer said the police should register their political party, alleging that they have become a weapon in the hands of Swapo ministers on the ground.
“We know the game they game Ironi is playing, Uutoni’s threatening letters did not work on our revolutionary elected political leadership and could not stop the direction that the elected political leadership is going. Now he is going on the ground,” Skrywer said.
