Freedom of Speech at University of Namibia

THE Unam policy not to allow its staff to chair political meetings, and the interpretation of Council that this policy means that staff members cannot hold executive positions in political parties, has been a hot discussion issue for the last month or so.

Alexactus Kaure links the policy with the banning of John Nakumbe to speak on the Unam campus. He sees a pattern in it and a full-blown attack on independent intellectuals.Let me make one thing clear: I believe the barring of John Nakumbe to speak (he has never been stopped to teach or to speak in Zimbabwe) was wrong and the silence of Unam academics a shame.But I also believe that it is not an attack on academic freedom to keep political parties off campus.There are several contradictions in Kaure’s thinking.On the one hand he insinuates that appointments at Unam are political (read Swapo-friendly).If that is true – although I cannot speak for other faculties, no political appointment has been made in the Law Faculty since I joined in 2002 – that suspicion alone is a good academic reason for not allowing academics to hold office in political parties.One can only imagine the reaction of Unam critics if only one of the recent appointed deans was an office bearer of the ruling party! And the rule has never barred intellectuals from writing critical articles or participating in the political debates of the day.The policy explicitly states that a staff member can even participate at a meeting as long as she does not do it from the chair.I have not been around when Council made the policy, but I fully support it in protection of academic freedom.Political parties are after all not known to promote academic freedom.Party unity, the party policies and the objective to win elections does not make any party the natural home of independent intellectuals.Would Andre du Pisani, Joe Diescho and Henning Melber have been as effective and productive as they are if they were office bearers of a political party? We listen to them because we know that although they may have political alliances, they are free to think and speak without fear of suspension by a political party.There are also other reasons why political parties on campus are a bad idea.Van Zyl Slabbert, the doyen of liberalism in South Africa, chaired a committee at Stellenbosch University looking at tensions on the campus in 2003.The committee concluded that party politics has no place on the campus.And the Rector of the University of the Free State, Frederick Fourie, blames the Freedom Front for racial tension and violence on the Bloemfontein campus.Another renowned liberal, Raenette Taljaard of the Helen Suzman Foundation wrote an article in Beeld pleading for political discussions on South African campuses without the presence of political parties.Unam critics should also be fair in their criticism.Why are they only referring to the Swanu colleagues while Swapo Youth League activist, Chares Siyauya, and Eunice Ipinge, recently appointed Swapo Member of Parliament, also had to make a choice between party politics and their positions at Unam? And when Kala Gertze started campaigning for a COD seat, he took special leave.Only when he was elected Member of Parliament did he resign.The apolitical decision was made right at the founding of the institution.In my mind it protects the university from the power games of political parties, including Swapo.It will be a sad day for academic freedom when a secretary general of Swapo and a secretary general of RDP compete for the position of Vice Chancellor, or dean of a faculty.No matter where the dice falls, Unam will be severely criticized.And since people like Kaure already insinuated that Unam staff members are yes men and Swapo cronies, I can only image the ball they will have if they can actually count the office bearers in high positions.Kaure makes a critical mistake to link the policy prohibiting party political participation to academic freedom.The independence of academics should be measured by the academic writings in their field of expertise.And is critical thinking really dead at Unam? I can only speak for the Law Faculty.We have ten full time academic staff members.None are involved in party politics, but most of them are actively involved in public debates on the issues of the day – mostly in their fields of expertise.I chair a monthly meeting of human rights activists from both the private and public sector.And it is not merely a think tank.The group has done research on the situation in the police cells and is working on a programme to improve the conditions.Barbara Olshansky, the advocate who challenged George Bush on the rights of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners – and won (Rashul versus Bush) – is a frequent visiting scholar.In November Charlene Smith, women rights and HIV/Aids activist, presented a day seminar and delivered the annual human rights lecture.On the same day the Faculty released a research paper on the gap between the human rights treaties ratified by Namibia and our local legislation.Only one newspaper accepted our invitation to send a journalist (Republikein).But it was reported and there was a clip on NBC News.The Faculty also published a human rights commentary on the Namibian Criminal Procedure Act (Volume 2 is presently edited).The Human Rights and Documentation Centre was instrumental in assisting the Ombudsman to set up a Human Rights Advisory Committee after the government reacted negative to the Centre’s suggestion of an independent commission.In the process another great independent thinker, Brian Burdekin of Australia and at one stage special envoy of Mary Robinson, visited the Law Faculty and conducted a public meeting on human rights commissions.Faculty members also contributed papers to a book with several critical articles on the Community Courts Act, the HRDC was instrumental in bringing a representative of the Namibian government, representatives of the German government and Ovaherero chiefs, including Chief Riruako, together for discussions on reparation in Bremen.In November 2006 the HRDC launched a campaign for legislation making torture a specific criminal offence.The programme goes on, despite reluctance by donors to fund it.Next month the Konrad Adenhauer Stiftung will publish a book on human rights and the rule of law in Namibia.Six of the contributors (including the editor) are law faculty members.Two of our students did a LLM at the University of Pretoria last year and did exceptionally well, as all of our alumni did when they furthered their studies in South Africa and abroad.Unam, like any academic institution, may have its non-intellectuals, as Kaure calls them.But there are also many others who are getting it right.The Law Faculty is respected all over the world.The Commentary on the Criminal Procedure Act was co-edited by Prof.Pamela Schwikkard, deputy dean of the law faculty of the University of Cape Town, generally recognized as the number one university in Africa.I was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, rated as one of the five best universities in the world.We are presently negotiating with the University of Stellenbosch to enter into a partnership in research and a staff exchange programme.None of these are Mickey Mouse universities and they do not see us as non-intellectuals.One of the most respected ranking institutions in the world, Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, ranked Unam number sixteen in Africa in 2007 – three positions ahead of the University of Johannesburg (RAU).The Law Faculty is playing a solid, intellectual role in the public sphere.Some sectors of the press have never been too keen in reporting on our activities.Are we seen as yes men merely because we work at Unam? Or is it just our colonial hangover that convinces Namibians that nothing good can come from Nazareth? A last word on the constitutionality of the Unam policy is appropriate.The policy does not prevent anyone to speak out on any issue.No one can be sanctioned for having any political or ideological view and express it, as was proved many times in the past.A case in point is the bitter interaction between Prof.Christo Lombard and the Chancellor of the University.Academics can write their critical articles in newspapers and journals.I fail to see how one can claim that the Unam policy prevents the exchange of ideas.Or can one only express a valid political view if you are part of the executive elite of a political party? The Unam policy is not unique.Teachers, men and women in the police and military, pastors, and many other professionals are not allowed to hold office in political parties.And many of these people are also barred from expressing their political views.Prof Nico Horn Dean, Faculty of Law UnamHe sees a pattern in it and a full-blown attack on independent intellectuals.Let me make one thing clear: I believe the barring of John Nakumbe to speak (he has never been stopped to teach or to speak in Zimbabwe) was wrong and the silence of Unam academics a shame.But I also believe that it is not an attack on academic freedom to keep political parties off campus.There are several contradictions in Kaure’s thinking.On the one hand he insinuates that appointments at Unam are political (read Swapo-friendly).If that is true – although I cannot speak for other faculties, no political appointment has been made in the Law Faculty since I joined in 2002 – that suspicion alone is a good academic reason for not allowing academics to hold office in political parties.One can only imagine the reaction of Unam critics if only one of the recent appointed deans was an office bearer of the ruling party! And the rule has never barred intellectuals from writing critical articles or participating in the political debates of the day.The policy explicitly states that a staff member can even participate at a meeting as long as she does not do it from the chair.I have not been around when Council made the policy, but I fully support it in protection of academic freedom.Political parties are after all not known to promote academic freedom.Party unity, the party policies and the objective to win elections does not make any party the natural home of independent intellectuals.Would Andre du Pisani, Joe Diescho and Henning Melber have been as effective and productive as they are if they were office bearers of a political party? We listen to them because we know that although they may have political alliances, they are free to think and speak without fear of suspension by a political party.There are also other reasons why political parties on campus are a bad idea.Van Zyl Slabbert, the doyen of liberalism in South Africa, chaired a committee at Stellenbosch University looking at tensions on the campus in 2003.The committee concluded that party politics has no place on the campus.And the Rector of the University of the Free State, Frederick Fourie, blames the Freedom Front for racial tension and violence on the Bloemfontein campus.Another renowned liberal, Raenette Taljaard of the Helen Suzman Foundation wrote an article in Beeld pleading for political discussions on South African campuses without the presence of political parties.Unam critics should also be fair in their criticism.Why are they only referring to the Swanu colleagues while Swapo Youth League activist, Chares Siyauya, and Eunice Ipinge, recently appointed Swapo Member of Parliament, also had to make a choice between party politics and their positions at Unam? And when Kala Gertze started campaigning for a COD seat, he took special leave.Only when he was elected Member of Parliament did he resign.The apolitical decision was made right at the founding of the institution.In my mind it protects the university from the power games of political parties, including Swapo.It will be a sad day for academic freedom when a secretary general of Swapo and a secretary general of RDP compete for the position of Vice Chancellor, or dean of a faculty.No matter where the dice falls, Unam will be severely criticized.And since people like Kaure already insinuated that Unam staff members are yes men and Swapo cronies, I can only image the ball they will have if they can actually count the office bearers in high positions.Kaure makes a critical mistake to link the policy prohibiting party political participation to academic freedom.The independence of academics should be measured by the academic writings in their field of expertise.And is critical thinking really dead at Unam? I can only speak for the Law Faculty.We have ten full time academic staff members.None are involved in party politics, but most of them are actively involved in public debates on the issues of the day – mostly in their fields of expertise.I chair a monthly meeting of human rights activists from both the private and public sector.And it is not merely a think tank.The group has done research on the situation in the police cells and is working on a programme to improve the conditions.Barbara Olshansky, the advocate who challenged George Bush on the rights of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners – and won (Rashul versus Bush) – is a frequent visiting scholar.In November Charlene Smith, women rights and HIV/Aids activist, presented a day seminar and delivered the annual human rights lecture.On the same day the Faculty released a research paper on the gap between the human rights treaties ratified by Namibia and our local legislation.Only one newspaper accepted our invitation to send a journalist (Republikein).But it was reported and there was a clip on NBC News.The Faculty also published a human rights commentary on the Namibian Criminal Procedure Act (Volume 2 is presently edited).The Human Rights and Documentation Centre was instrumental in assisting the Ombudsman to set up a Human Rights Advisory Committee after the government reacted negative to the Centre’s suggestion of an independent commission.In the process another great independent thinker, Brian Burdekin of Australia and at one stage special envoy of Mary Robinson, visited the Law Faculty and conducted a public meeting on human rights commissions.Faculty members also contributed papers to a book with several critical articles on the Community Courts Act, the HRDC was instrumental in bringing a representative of the Namibian government, representatives of the German government and Ovaherero chiefs, including Chief Riruako, together for discussions on reparation in Bremen.In November 2006 the HRDC launched a campaign for legislation making torture a specific criminal offence.The programme goes on, despite reluctance by donors to fund it.Next month the Konrad Adenhauer Stiftung will publish a book on human rights and the rule of law in Namibia.Six of the contributors (including the editor) are law faculty members.Two of our students did a LLM at the University of Pretoria last year and did exceptionally well, as all of our alumni did when they furthered their studies in South Africa and abroad.Unam, like any academic institution, may have its non-intellectuals, as Kaure calls them.But there are also many others who are getting it right.The Law Faculty is respected all over the world.The Commentary on the Criminal Procedure Act was co-edited by Prof.Pamela Schwikkard, deputy dean of the law faculty of the University of Cape Town, generally recognized as the number one university in Africa.I was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, rated as one of the five best universities in the world.We are presently negotiating with the University of Stellenbosch to enter into a partnership in research and a staff exchange programme.None of these are Mickey Mouse universities and they do not see us as non-intellectuals.One of the most respected ranking institutions in the world, Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, ranked Unam number sixteen in Africa in 2007 – three positions ahead of the University of Johannesburg (RAU).The Law Faculty is playing a solid, intellectual role in the public sphere.Some sectors of the press have never been too keen in reporting on our activities.Are we seen as yes men merely because we work at Unam? Or is it just our colonial hangover that convinces Namibians that nothing good can come from Nazareth? A last word on the constitutionality of the Unam policy is appropriate.The policy does not prevent anyone to speak out on any issue.No one can be sanctioned for having any political or ideological view and express it, as was proved many times in the past.A case in point is the bitter interaction between Prof.Christo Lombard and the Chancellor of the University.Academics can write their critical articles in newspapers and journals.I fail to see how one can claim that the Unam policy prevents the exchange of ideas.Or can one only express a valid political view if you are part of the executive elite of a political party? The Unam policy is not unique.Teachers, men and women in the police and military, pastors, and many other professionals are not allowed to hold office in political parties.And many of these people are also barred from expressing their political views.Prof Nico Horn Dean, Faculty of Law Unam