Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda is considering lodging a complaint with the media ombudsman against The Namibian for publishing a cartoon showing him allegedly sleeping in parliament.
Amupanda on Tuesday blamed journalists taking pictures during parliament sessions for the ‘sleepy job’ cartoon.
“In terms of rule 135, I want to ask a very urgent oral question. What do we do with members of the public, particularly journalists, who sit up there looking down and taking pictres of us in parliament? We need to deal with this urgently, because some of us never slept in parliament,” Amupanda said.
Media ombudsman John Nakuta yesterday confirmed that Amupanda has contacted him to express his dissatisfaction regarding the dudley cartoon recently published in The Namibian.
“The cartoon depicts Amupanda as sleeping in the National Assembly. He strongly denies this and accordingly takes strong exception to that. I explained the complaint procedures to him,” Nakuta said.
He said Amupanda is currently weighing his options on whether to lodge an official complaint or not, adding that the complaint system is open to everyone, and stressing that the media ombudsman system exists to adjudicate and resolve media complaints outside the court system.
Amupanda said he is yet to lodge a complaint and is still digesting.
Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Namibia Media Professionals Union general secretary Jemima Beukes expressed concerns about press freedom in the country, which seems to be on a decline due to politicians’ intimidation.
“I do not take what Amupanda said in parliament lightly, because this is intimidation to the media. Amupanda must remember that when he was on the other side he used to demand transparency, and now that he is in parliament he is no longer in support,” she said.
Beukes said Amupanda needs to go back and find out what public gallery means and he must remember that the parliament is open to the public, citing that his request for intervention from the police is a clear threat to press freedom.
Beukes said Amupanda must understand that he has a huge following, and journalists are simply doing their job. His request for the police to intervene means journalists are not allowed to take pictures and if that is the case, when can the media take pictures for transparency, she asked.
The Namibian managing director Tangeni Amupadhi says Amupanda has the right to complain.
“We like to believe that he appreciates the role of satire, which cartoons are about. I hope he also appreciates the role of media in general.
“What is concerning is that Amupanda seems to cross the line by issuing threats against our experienced cartoonist,” he says.
Amupadhi further says Amupanda’s reaction to dudley shows a lack of maturity as a politician, which is concerning.
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