‘Charge Phil!’

A FEW hundred residents in Omusati staged a demonstration at the regional capital Outapi on Tuesday to protest the NSHR’s submission to the International Court of Justice (ICC) to hold former President Sam Nujoma and three others responsible for the disappearance of thousands of Namibians before Independence.

The protesters said they would fight to defend Nujoma, and demanded that NSHR Director Phil ya Nangoloh withdraw the ICC submission. They said he should be charged with “high treason” if he did not.After marching through Outapi, the Regional Councillor of Anamulenge Constituency, Josef Kanyenye Aluviklu, read a petition to Omusati Governor Sackey Kayone.The petition said it had come as a shock to people in Omusati that Ya Nangoloh and his “so-called” National Society for Human Rights had made what they called “treasonous, baseless, frivolous and insulting false allegations against Dr Sam Nujoma and three other patriotic Namibians”.The petition said a genuine human rights organisation would have campaigned for reparations for the Herero, Nama and other Namibian communities affected by German colonial rule, and for the prosecution of apartheid war criminals.The protesters appealed to Government to put stringent measures in place to control what they called “irresponsible institutions” such as the NSHR to prevent abuse of freedom of speech.They also urged foreign sponsors of the NSHR to immediately stop funding it.They further called on Government to obtain a court order to freeze all bank accounts of the NSHR, and to pass a law obliging all non-governmental organisations to disclose their sources of funding.The Governor told the demonstrators that he would send their petition to Government.They said he should be charged with “high treason” if he did not.After marching through Outapi, the Regional Councillor of Anamulenge Constituency, Josef Kanyenye Aluviklu, read a petition to Omusati Governor Sackey Kayone.The petition said it had come as a shock to people in Omusati that Ya Nangoloh and his “so-called” National Society for Human Rights had made what they called “treasonous, baseless, frivolous and insulting false allegations against Dr Sam Nujoma and three other patriotic Namibians”.The petition said a genuine human rights organisation would have campaigned for reparations for the Herero, Nama and other Namibian communities affected by German colonial rule, and for the prosecution of apartheid war criminals.The protesters appealed to Government to put stringent measures in place to control what they called “irresponsible institutions” such as the NSHR to prevent abuse of freedom of speech.They also urged foreign sponsors of the NSHR to immediately stop funding it.They further called on Government to obtain a court order to freeze all bank accounts of the NSHR, and to pass a law obliging all non-governmental organisations to disclose their sources of funding.The Governor told the demonstrators that he would send their petition to Government.