Political Perspective

THE Congress of Democrats (CoD) has tabled a motion in Parliament calling for a debate on the Swapo detainee issue and this will probably result in some very heated exchanges.

But in the wake of the ex-combatant issue, which recently culminated in the creation of a special Ministry to take care of the needs of war veterans, it comes as no surprise to me that the detainee question will be next. THIS thorny issue remains unresolved after 16 years of independence.The ruling party and its Government never apologised, nor assisted in any way, those who were thrust into captivity in Lubango dungeons in Angola on the grounds that they were spies for the former apartheid government.In the witch-hunt that ensued, many were unjustly accused and many died.And to be honest, former detainees of Swapo never did ask for compensation like the ex-fighters did.But they specifically called for verbal reparation in the form of apology.They never got this, although there were times when various Swapo leaders stopped just short of requesting forgiveness.But the official party line was against them doing so.The former liberation movement hoped that the official policy of reconciliation would help sweep the matter under the carpet, but this was not to be.Ex-detainees don’t see why they should simply forgive and forget, and most are of the opinion that Swapo needs to acknowledge that it incarcerated fellow Namibians, and an apology would bring closure on the matter.The former detainees are a diverse group of Namibians, from more lowly citizens to those in elevated Government posts and top business leaders.The person who proposed the motion in Parliament on behalf of the CoD, Kala Gertze, is himself a former detainee.Many have made their mark since Independence in one way or another, and others have been overwhelmed by what happened to them in the past.Most likely, none will ever forget that experience although they may have largely internalised what happened to them.The youth of Namibia today probably don’t even know the identities of many of those detained in exile by Swapo.But they include some prominent personalities such as former Ombudsman Bience Gawanas; millionaire businessman Aaron Mushimba; wife of former President Sam Nujoma, Kovambo Nujoma; Primus Hango, CEO of GIPF; David Namwandi of IUM; Mihe Goamab Snr; MPs such as Eric Biwa and Gertze; Oiva Angula, Emma Kambangula; Pauline Dempers; Samson Ndeikwila… the list goes on.Swapo obviously thought that by incorporating many ex-detainees into Government and other prominent positions might serve to suppress this issue, and perhaps to a large extent they succeeded in doing so, but they have never managed to eliminate it altogether.Some were co-opted, others made a success of their lives without the party’s assistance, and many never had much and continue to struggle with the past.In some more than in others, the wounds run very deep and the hurt will never be fully erased.But an official apology will go some way towards ameliorating the damage of the dungeons.As far as I have been able to ascertain, and unlike the ex-combatants, former Swapo detainees have never asked for any kind of compensation, only apology.In all likelihood Swapo may have found it easier to deal with the former than the latter.Apology means acknowledgement, and this they have been reluctant to do, at the public level.Mind you, given the very wide definition of ‘ex-combatants’, former Swapo detainees must surely qualify in this precise category to knock on the door of Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, for help and assistance and advice! We shouldn’t dwell on the past at the expense of the present and the future.But recognition of specific groups and problems is called for in order to give closure.This is one of them.Swapo has surely come far enough from liberation movement to political party to finally do what is necessary.We are all aware that the apartheid regime too killed, arrested, detained and tortured many Namibians.But that’s a different story.The hurt of the detainees is surely worse because it happened at the hands of their own people.There need be no debate at all on the Gretze motion if the President or the Prime Minister or the Party president apologised once and for all.If the ANC could do it, Swapo can too.THIS thorny issue remains unresolved after 16 years of independence.The ruling party and its Government never apologised, nor assisted in any way, those who were thrust into captivity in Lubango dungeons in Angola on the grounds that they were spies for the former apartheid government.In the witch-hunt that ensued, many were unjustly accused and many died.And to be honest, former detainees of Swapo never did ask for compensation like the ex-fighters did.But they specifically called for verbal reparation in the form of apology.They never got this, although there were times when various Swapo leaders stopped just short of requesting forgiveness.But the official party line was against them doing so.The former liberation movement hoped that the official policy of reconciliation would help sweep the matter under the carpet, but this was not to be.Ex-detainees don’t see why they should simply forgive and forget, and most are of the opinion that Swapo needs to acknowledge that it incarcerated fellow Namibians, and an apology would bring closure on the matter.The former detainees are a diverse group of Namibians, from more lowly citizens to those in elevated Government posts and top business leaders.The person who proposed the motion in Parliament on behalf of the CoD, Kala Gertze, is himself a former detainee.Many have made their mark since Independence in one way or another, and others have been overwhelmed by what happened to them in the past.Most likely, none will ever forget that experience although they may have largely internalised what happened to them.The youth of Namibia today probably don’t even know the identities of many of those detained in exile by Swapo.But they include some prominent personalities such as former Ombudsman Bience Gawanas; millionaire businessman Aaron Mushimba; wife of former President Sam Nujoma, Kovambo Nujoma; Primus Hango, CEO of GIPF; David Namwandi of IUM; Mihe Goamab Snr; MPs such as Eric Biwa and Gertze; Oiva Angula, Emma Kambangula; Pauline Dempers; Samson Ndeikwila… the list goes on.Swapo obviously thought that by incorporating many ex-detainees into Government and other prominent positions might serve to suppress this issue, and perhaps to a large extent they succeeded in doing so, but they have never managed to eliminate it altogether.Some were co-opted, others made a success of their lives without the party’s assistance, and many never had much and continue to struggle with the past.In some more than in others, the wounds run very deep and the hurt will never be fully erased.But an official apology will go some way towards ameliorating the damage of the dungeons.As far as I have been able to ascertain, and unlike the ex-combatants, former Swapo detainees have never asked for any kind of compensation, only apology.In all likelihood Swapo may have found it easier to deal with the former than the latter.Apology means acknowledgement, and this they have been reluctant to do, at the public level.Mind you, given the very wide definition of ‘ex-combatants’, former Swapo detainees must surely qualify in this precise category to knock on the door of Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, for help and assistance and advice! We shouldn’t dwell on the past at the expense of the present and the future.But recognition of specific groups and problems is called for in order to give closure.This is one of them.Swapo has surely come far enough from liberation movement to political party to finally do what is necessary.We are all aware that the apartheid regime too killed, arrested, detained and tortured many Namibians.But that’s a different story.The hurt of the detainees is surely worse because it happened at the hands of their own people.There need be no debate at all on the Gretze motion if the President
or the Prime Minister or the Party president apologised once and for all.If the ANC could do it, Swapo can too.