Pohamba has no courage to unban The Namibian: HH

By: BRIGITTE WEIDLICH

THE Government advertising and purchasing ban on The Namibian, imposed almost ten years ago by former president Sam Nujoma, will in all likelihood not be lifted, as President Hifikepunye Pohamba “will not have the courage to do so,” said Hidipo Hamutenya yesterday.

Speaking at a signing ceremony between his RDP party and the Republican Party (RP), Hamutenya said the ruling Swapo party was not democratic but autocratic.

“I attended a function [25th anniversary of The Namibian] over the weekend where a dear friend of mine [Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab] called for the unbanning of that newspaper but his voice will be lost in the wind. President Pohamba will never have the courage to lift the ban,” Hamutenya said.

“[Gurirab] on Saturday said at the event he did not know the reasons for the ban imposed on The Namibian, but since he was a member of Cabinet then, he agreed to it. Yes, he agreed, although he did not know why,” as was a general procedure of the Swapo government,” Hamutenya alleged yesterday. 

The RDP president himself was also a member of Cabinet under Nujoma when Cabinet decided to ban all Government advertising in The Namibian and that no copies of the newspaper should be bought with Government funds.

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