NSHR warns of ‘plan’ to return Nujoma to power

THE National Society for Human Rights claims that a campaign to return former President Sam Nujoma to State House has moved into top gear and is being spearheaded by current Head of State, Hifikepunye Pohamba.

NSHR Executive Director Phil ya Nangoloh told a media briefing in Windhoek yesterday that his recent submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) was being used as a rallying point. He claimed that the campaign was in full swing, using the ICC issue to cow Swapo supporters into submission and supporting the candidacy of Nujoma.”In our observation, Mr Nujoma has ambitions to return to power after general and presidential elections scheduled for 2009.We challenge President Pohamba, or Mr Nujoma himself, to publicly and convincingly refute this observation,” he said.”The said campaign, which is waged in the defence of Swapo Party President Sam Nujoma, is now apparently being spearheaded by Namibian President Lucas Hifikepunye Pohamba himself.”Earlier this year, Nujoma told the international media in Zambia that he had no ambition to return to active politics.However, Ya Nangoloh said Nujoma had not come out publicly in Namibia to clarify his stance.Several Swapo branches recently informed the party they want Nujoma to stand again as president of the ruling party.He has not come out to either reject or accept the proposals.Ya Nangoloh claimed that the central message of Nujoma’s campaign was that if he “were to be replaced with another Swapo or other leader, there will be a civil war in this country and the consequences of such war will be too ghastly to contemplate”.”The people of this country are also being told that the faction of the Swapo Youth League, which is under the leadership of Elijah Ngurare, who joined Swapo in 1999, is armed with bazookas and machine guns in order to kill critics of former President Sam Nujoma,” Ya Nangoloh alleged.The rights campaigner said President Pohamba’s statement at Sunday’s Heroes’ Day ceremony that there were “sustained and uncalled-for attacks by some misguided individuals and organisations” against Nujoma was a clear reference to organisations and individuals viewed as being critical of Nujoma and thereby threatening his chance to come back to power as President of Namibia.”It is therefore our reading that President Pohamba used the opportunity of Heroes’ Day to bring home the same message about the internal divisions and squabbles within his ruling party.He only used our ICC submission as a scarecrow, apparently in order to instil fear in the hearts of the people and to make his point regarding such divisions and squabbles,” Ya Nangoloh said.”Had he been really concerned about our ICC submission, Mr Pohamba would have told the nation that he had since received an offer from NSHR urging him to institute a home-grown transitional justice and national reconciliation process, in exchange for the withdrawal by us of the ICC submission.”Ya Nangoloh claimed that President Pohamba had deliberately kept quiet about the NSHR offer “in order to advance his campaign for Nujoma to return to power as Namibian President, come the 2009 elections.”We are, therefore, not at all surprised at the suggestions that criticism of one person, who has supposedly no ambition to return to power, would plunge this country into a conflagration of conflict and instability.This is déjà vu!” Ya Nangoloh claimed that attempts to bring back Nujoma as President held real potential of disrupting peace and stability.”Because this means that our Constitution will again be amended to ensure Nujoma’s return.A law on referenda will soon be tabled in Parliament in order to make such a constitutional amendment.President Pohamba has already made reference to such a referendum in previous speeches.”He said they were very concerned about the prospects of Nujoma’s comeback as President and tampering with the Constitution, merely to suit or accommodate the ambitions of one person.”As far as we are concerned, during his rule of 15 years, Mr Nujoma failed to bring about equitable distribution of this country’s resources among the population.He has failed to arrest unemployment, poverty, hunger and disease in this country,” Ya Nangoloh charged.”He has failed to combat the soaring crime rate.He has failed to bring about a workable system of administration of justice.Corruption and numerous self-enrichment schemes have taken root under his government.Under his rule, the education and health systems are in shambles and homelessness has grown.He has failed to adequately reintegrate, rehabilitate and resettle ex-combatants.”According to the NSHR, Nujoma has ostracised those Swapo members who fought for this country’s Independence in exile in favour of opportunistic praise-singers and other elements whose only interest is to land a high-ranking post in Government.”For us, this monumental failure by Mr Nujoma is a gross violation of human rights, which should never be allowed again in this country,” he said.He called on Pohamba not to “impose Nujoma upon the people of Namibia”.He claimed that the campaign was in full swing, using the ICC issue to cow Swapo supporters into submission and supporting the candidacy of Nujoma.”In our observation, Mr Nujoma has ambitions to return to power after general and presidential elections scheduled for 2009.We challenge President Pohamba, or Mr Nujoma himself, to publicly and convincingly refute this observation,” he said. “The said campaign, which is waged in the defence of Swapo Party President Sam Nujoma, is now apparently being spearheaded by Namibian President Lucas Hifikepunye Pohamba himself.”Earlier this year, Nujoma told the international media in Zambia that he had no ambition to return to active politics.However, Ya Nangoloh said Nujoma had not come out publicly in Namibia to clarify his stance.Several Swapo branches recently informed the party they want Nujoma to stand again as president of the ruling party.He has not come out to either reject or accept the proposals.Ya Nangoloh claimed that the central message of Nujoma’s campaign was that if he “were to be replaced with another Swapo or other leader, there will be a civil war in this country and the consequences of such war will be too ghastly to contemplate”.”The people of this country are also being told that the faction of the Swapo Youth League, which is under the leadership of Elijah Ngurare, who joined Swapo in 1999, is armed with bazookas and machine guns in order to kill critics of former President Sam Nujoma,” Ya Nangoloh alleged.The rights campaigner said President Pohamba’s statement at Sunday’s Heroes’ Day ceremony that there were “sustained and uncalled-for attacks by some misguided individuals and organisations” against Nujoma was a clear reference to organisations and individuals viewed as being critical of Nujoma and thereby threatening his chance to come back to power as President of Namibia.”It is therefore our reading that President Pohamba used the opportunity of Heroes’ Day to bring home the same message about the internal divisions and squabbles within his ruling party.He only used our ICC submission as a scarecrow, apparently in order to instil fear in the hearts of the people and to make his point regarding such divisions and squabbles,” Ya Nangoloh said.”Had he been really concerned about our ICC submission, Mr Pohamba would have told the nation that he had since received an offer from NSHR urging him to institute a home-grown transitional justice and national reconciliation process, in exchange for the withdrawal by us of the ICC submission.”Ya Nangoloh claimed that President Pohamba had deliberately kept quiet about the NSHR offer “in order to advance his campaign for Nujoma to return to power as Namibian President, come the 2009 elections.”We are, therefore, not at all surprised at the suggestions that criticism of one person, who has supposedly no ambition to return to power, would plunge this country into a conflagration of conflict and instability.This is déjà vu!” Ya Nangoloh claimed that attempts to bring back Nujoma as President held real potential of disrupting peace and stability.”Because this means that our Constitution will again be amended to ensure Nujoma’s return.A law on referenda will soon be tabled in Parliament in order to make such a constitutional amendment.President Pohamba has already made reference to such a referendum in previous speeches.”He said they were very concerned about the prospects of Nujoma’s comeback as President and tampering with the Constitution, merely to suit or accommodate the ambitions of one person.”As far as we are concerned, during his rule of 15 years, Mr Nujoma failed to bring about equitable distribution of this country’s resources among the population.He has failed to arrest unemployment, poverty, hunger and disease in this country,” Ya Nangoloh charged.”He has failed to combat the soaring crime rate.He has failed to bring about a workable system of administration of justice.Corruption and numerous self-enrichment schemes have taken root under his government.Under his rule, the education and health systems are in shambles and homelessness has grown.He has failed to adequately reintegrate, rehabilitate and resettle ex-combatants.”According to the NSHR, Nujoma has ostracised those Swapo members who fought for this country’s Independence in exile in favour of opportunistic praise-singers and other elements whose only interest is to land a high-ranking post in Government.”For us, this monumental failure by Mr Nujoma is a gross violation of human rights, which should never be allowed again in this country,” he said.He called on Pohamba not to “impose Nujoma upon the people of Namibia”.