Lubango survivors seek dialogue with president

Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) has invited president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to an open dialogue on Swapo’s Lubango dungeons legacy and calls for restorative justice.

The movement was created in 1996 by detainees at Lubango to advocate for the acknowledgement of what transpired at the dungeons, as well as for an official apology from Swapo.

BWS acting chairperson and survivor Oiva Angula yesterday said the crimes of the Lubango dungeons cannot be ignored without severe consequences.

“Breaking the Wall of Silence, therefore, wishes to invite the president of Swapo and our republic for an open, honest dialogue towards restorative justice,” he said.

Angula said he was held in the dungeons for over four years and six months.

“It has been 35 years and too long for the silence from Swapo. They need to open up, introspect, and renew their conscience for a brighter and righteous future for Namibia,” Angula said.

He said the atrocities committed by Swapo during the struggle for independence must be recognised by its collective leadership, documented, and learned from, and not be distorted or misused for political purposes.

“The victims and their families are still in pain and crying as wounds are festering to the point of rotting,” he said.

Angula’s call comes after Nandi-Ndaitwah hailed former Namibian Defence Force chief Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala, as a dedicated freedom fighter who “fought a good fight” during Namibia’s struggle for independence.

She attended Hawala’s funeral service at Ongwediva on Saturday.

“He fought a good fight and championed a cause during the most demanding times in our country’s history, and he never wavered,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

According to her, Hawala did not sacrifice his entire life with the intention of becoming a hero.

“He instead made that sacrifice with the aim of providing service for the liberation of his country, which he loved, and its people,” she said.

Hawala has long been accused of playing a central role in the so-called Lubango dungeons, Swapo’s detention centres in exile in Angola, where hundreds of Namibians were allegedly tortured, imprisoned without trial, and in some cases killed, due to the suspicion of being apartheid spies. Despite this troubled legacy, Nandi-Ndaitwah called on the nation to honour the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle by promoting peace and national unity.

“We must continue to defend the peace we enjoy, pursue prosperity for every Namibian, and remain faithful to the values for which comrade Hawala and others fought,” she said.

Human rights advocate and NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh has condemned the president’s remarks, calling them “gravely unfortunate, insensitive, and business as usual”.

“Unlike her predecessors such as Nujoma [Sam], she acknowledged that ‘Jesus’ Hawala acted pursuant to an organisational policy of Swapo to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and enforced disappearances,” Ya Nangoloh says.

He warns that the president’s comments are “deeply divisive and a real and present threat to national unity,” arguing that they undermine her credibility on other issues such as corruption and societal division. “Her utterances demonstrate that her otherwise commendable public statements condemning corruption and of being disturbed by societal anger of going at each other’s throats are but shallow and empty statements which cannot be taken seriously,” Ya Nangoloh says.

He says Nandi-Ndaitwah missed the opportunity to apologise on behalf of Swapo for the atrocities committed by Hawala and his subordinates.

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah has similar sentiments, criticising the president for not using the platform to issue a long-awaited apology.

“The survivors of the Lubango dungeons are not asking for money or compensation. They are simply asking for an apology from Swapo, then we move on. That’s all.

“That’s what she was supposed to do, instead of widening the issue further. Her statement does nothing to help solve the Lubango dungeons matter,” he says.

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