Reacting to a reader's letter published in the Republikein on Monday titled 'Nujoma is the danger man', Minister of Information and Broadcasting Nangolo Mbumba said the media should exercise their rights and freedoms responsibly.

In the letter, a certain Walya Shakadila claims President Sam Nujoma is averse to intellectuals within the Swapo Party, favouring those who are unquestioning in their loyalty towards him.

It further maintained that President-elect Pohamba would be faced with having to run a Government of "illiterates", as Nujoma had allegedly side-lined the intellectual members of the party.

"To enhance a ... balance between the right to communicate freely and respect for human dignity and the right to privacy, it is important that media freedom be exercised responsibly," Mbumba told a media briefing on Cabinet decisions on Wednesday.

"Our media establishments need to realise that there is no freedom without limits ... every defined and identifiable right entails responsibilities and obligations."

Mbumba said Namibia was committed to the freedom of the media and their unrestricted right to publish viewpoints, while protecting their sources of information.

However, he said the letter in question was "nothing short of a poison letter attacking the character and integrity of the Head of State and detracting [from] the honour and the highly earned victory of the President-elect."

He said it was untrue that the President was opposed to education and that the many infrastructural developments in the country were thanks to Nujoma's leadership.

Terming it a "hate letter", Mbumba said it was an example of "ill-informed destructive criticism" and "mudslinging" which did not contribute to building a proud society.

Mbumba added that the freedom of the media could not be enjoyed in isolation and that other guaranteed freedoms such as respect for human dignity and the right to privacy had to be considered.

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