Remembering Lubango
ON Saturday [tomorrow], the Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) will observe Day of Remembrance in honour of those Namibians who either died or went missing in Swapo jails in exile during our war of national liberation.
July 4 also marks the 20th anniversary since 153 men, women and children – all survivors of the infamous Lubango dungeons, were repatriated from Angola to Namibia under the aegis of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees following the implementation of Resolution 435 that paved the way for Namibia’s independence.
However, about 1 000-2 000 known detainees were left behind in the dungeons and largely remain unaccounted for 20 years after independence. In their honour, our Movement (BWS) decided to observe the day of homecoming of Lubango detainees as ‘Day of Remembrance’ for those unfortunate Namibian patriots whose bones remain buried in unmarked graves in Angola, Zambia and elsewhere in Africa, and the many others who mysteriously disappeared while in Swapo captivity. It is a tribute in gratitude for their priceless love for Namibia, courage in enduring the harsh effects of the wartime, incarceration, and forced disappearance and, at times, inexplicable death.
In addition, 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the historic High Court judgement that legally ordered Swapo to release six named detainees it truthfully and unlawfully jailed in Angola. In the matter between Samuel Nujoma and Others vs The Parents Committee and Others, the Supreme Court ordered the respondents “to release six named detainees, namely Philemon Mbaeva, Gerson Ruhumba, Hitjevi Boas Herunga, Booitjie Karel Muukwa, Deon Herbert Boois, and Solomon Goliath into the custody of the government of Angola, or alternatively (in each instance) to a specified applicant”.
To date, the respondents remain in contempt of court. It is an inexcusable illegality and a serious dereliction of duty on the part of those who have taken an oath of office to uphold the rule of law, without fear or favour. Equally, our constitution is clear and does not make room for double standards in the application of any law.
The Government of Namibia has violated its obligations under the domestic and international law. Failing to investigate and ensure effective remedy for the torture and enforced disappearances committed by Swapo during the liberation struggle against Namibian citizens.
BWS call on the Namibian Government to step up and take responsibility and meet its constitutional and related domestic legal obligations. The Namibian government must remember that they will be accomplishers and are equally committing are crime continuously, by denying the survivors and families of the missing person their right to know and their right to be listened to.
It places them in a situation of cruel uncertainty.
After 20 years, BWS and its membership – which includes not only ex-detainees but also sympathisers and relatives and friends of the dead and missing persons, know that at the heart of this day are real people who originated from Namibia. To us it is a very profound loss, a loss that was experienced, and a loss that has no doubt been relived again and again during the passing of the years.
In spite of the blur of those years in the memories of most Namibians, BWS’s focus has grown sharper. We know intensely what the people we lost meant to us, and we are more keenly aware that the issue of missing persons has produced anguish, fear and unspeakable sorrow for many families.
These were true patriots – men and women who answered the call to duty, leaving their loved ones and hometowns and putting aside their very human feelings of fear and apprehension to join the armed struggle in exile with the singular aim to liberate the motherland from apartheid tyranny and colonialism. Even those who have chosen to deny the Lubango tragedy at all cost, must admire these true patriots who displayed enduring commitment to fight Namibia’s liberation and the freedom of its oppressed people.
On this day, BWS renews its call on the Swapo Party to honestly account for the whereabouts of these 1 000-2 000 Namibians. BWS honours and supports their loved ones whose lives have been altered forever, who need and deserve our help as they find themselves in a situation of cruel uncertainty – of not knowing the fate of their relatives.
BWS enjoins Namibians to pray for and to be in solidarity with those families and friends whose hearts ache for the return, of at least accounting for their lost loved ones. BWS continues to be amazed by the extraordinary spirit and inspired by the survivors of this tragedy.
Pauline Dempers, Executive Committee
Breaking the wall of silence (BWS)