Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Frans Kapofi, said his ministry has taken keen interest in utterances made through audio messages that are circulating on social media threatening instability after the Presidential and National Elections in November if a certain political party fails to win.
Kapofi was speaking in Parliament yesterday while motivating the allocation of more than N$ 6 billion annual budget for the ministry.
Early this month, The Namibian newspaper reported that Independent Patriots for Change member Kefas Vernandu, was suspended for inciting violence through a coup d’état if the party loses the elections.
Vernandu allegedly recorded an audio message circulated widely on social media, stating that the party’s youth may get donations for arms and stage a coup to overthrow the Swapo Party led government.
“IPC youth may get donations for arms and stage a coup. We will go into the bush like Toivo [Andimba Toivo ya Toivo], Nehale lya Mpingana and Hendrik Witbooi and seize the country from the white people who are hiding in Swapo. We are being exploited by people who are not citizens of our country. We are in our own country, but we are being exploited.
We can acquire arms the same way we acquired vehicles. The way Tate Bango [Itula] acquired the vehicles is the same way we will acquire the arms and liberate our country,” he was quoted.
Kapofi said, such remarks are dangerous to the peace and stability Namibia has been enjoying since independence. Therefore, the ministry will not take them lightly and will keep a close eye on any movement of such nature.
“Such utterances take the peace and stability that we have jealously guarded over the years for granted. Cognisant of the fact that it is easy to break but difficult to build, the MODVA is taking these utterances seriously and will commit the NDF to ensure that our peace and tranquility continue to prevail,” warned Kapofi.
The minister further added that the ministry has over the years faced insufficient funding, especially in the area of acquiring modern arm equipment to capacitate safety and security.
“Acquisition of modern equipment will be a prerequisite, to enhance Namibia’s ability to deter threats to its security and contribute to the security and stability of the SADC region and the world over. Acquiring conventional arms will however require a whole-of-nation (sic) effort for decades to come as the allocation to the Development Budget has never been sufficient over the years,” expressed Kapofi.
He further expressed that the modernisation of the defence force for the future is critical. Thus the ministry will seek the implementation of the Defence Development Plan for 2024 to 2034 to deliver capabilities across all domains, including, Land, Air, Maritime, Information Technology and Cyber Space supported by critical enabling capabilities.
“Last year, I expressed our need to reimage the NDF by equipping it with the right equipment. Even though nothing much happened in this area due to financial constraints, MODVA remains hopeful that the future is promising especially since the economy has shown prospects for growth. We have however taken care of our strategic airlift capability for which delivery is expected before the end of 2024,” he concluded.
