Smit denies racial attack on Nawatiseb

PAUL Smit of Henties Bay, who deputy minister of information and communication technology Engel Nawatiseb is suing for defamation of character, told The Namibian yesterday that Nawatiseb “was with all honesty confusing me with someone else”.

Nawatiseb opened a case of defamation at the Henties Bay Police Station on 28 December, claiming Smit posted comments on social media insinuating he (Nawatiseb) was involved in the Fishrot scandal, and also for trespassing on his private property on Christmas Day.

The claims, according to Nawatiseb, were part of a barrage of incidents in which he and his family, who were on holiday at Henties Bay, were eventually forced to request police protection from what he called “white racism”.

Nawatiseb told The Namibian that the hostile attitude towards him and his family by some white people stemmed from his family taking ownership of a 5 000m2 plot, which includes the Solitude Beach Restaurant situated south of the town on prime land.

“I don’t even know what he [Nawatiseb] looks like. I am not a racist and I don’t have a problem with him or with the property he owns here,” Smit said.

Smit said his problem started on Christmas Day when, while enjoying a peaceful day with his family at home, loud music allegedly disturbed the peace. According to him, it was hard to determine the source of the music, forcing him to drive around to locate it – which led him to the former Solitude Beach Restaurant, which is owned by Nawatiseb’s daughter and has become a family holiday residence.

“I went through the front door and requested [that] the group of people turn down the music. I was then chased out with racist remarks and one man even threatened to stab me with a broken bottle. I immediately drove to the police to complain about the noise,” Smit explained. “From what I saw in the media [of] what Nawatiseb looks like, I don’t even remember seeing him amongst the crowd.”

He also said that, in relation to another purported incident, while driving to Solitude Beach, he noticed what “looked like sewage leaking from” Nawatiseb’s daughter’s premises, which he then reported to the municipal health department. He posted photos on social media to air his concerns, which he hoped would receive the attention of the municipality.

As for the alleged defamatory remarks against Nawatiseb, in which it was claimed he linked the deputy minister with the Fishrot scandal, Smit denied ever saying anything in that vein. He noted that there was a video circulating on social media of Nawatiseb at a public fish-cleaning spot with his government car which attracted a lot of commentary from many people, and all he wrote was ‘#fishrot’.

“There were a lot more comments, but I did not make racial or defamatory remarks,” he said, adding that most of the discussions were on Facebook groups and that the content was seemingly removed soon after the explosive claims of racism and defamation surfaced once Nawatiseb posted a three-page statement airing his anger over the claims.

The Namibian contacted the admins of the groups via messaging, but no response was received at the time of going to print.

Asked to comment about the prospect of being arrested and sued for defamation, Smit said he was still waiting for the police.

“No one has approached me yet to make a statement. I’ll wait for them to come, and then we will see that there cannot be a case against me,” he said.

Erongo police commander Andreas Nelumbu said that although one person was mentioned in the case opened by Nawatiseb, the matter involved a “very huge circle” of people and incidents, and, therefore, no specific person could be targeted in the investigation.

“A thorough investigation is required, as most of the activity happened on social media, while also including people commenting, others taking videos and photos, or a group harassing the family at the house. We have to be impartial,” said Nelumbu, adding that the claims made were serious and therefore required serious attention from the police.

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