SWATF con man arrested

THE hopes of thousands of former South West Africa Territory Force members of laying their hands on huge payouts were dashed yesterday, when the leader of the group who had promised them the money was taken into custody.

Henry January was arrested for holding an illegal gathering at a defence force base near Bloemfontein, South Africa.He was in Bloemfontein after calling on thousands of former SWATF members to report at the Eighth SA Infantry Battalion in Upington yesterday.More than 5 000 former SWATF members in Windhoek alone registered with an organisation called SA Cape Corps Trust, headed by January, which promised them around N$490 000 each.They purportedly had to be in Upington yesterday to get the money, although the South African High Commission in Namibia had said that they knew nothing about the payments and that those who paid the N$182 ‘registration fee’ did so at their own risk.The South African government had warned that any illegal demonstration would result in arrests.January was arrested near Bloemfontein after he sat down in front of a police vehicle, ignoring an order to disperse.Reports from South Africa said January stood his ground in front of a police line, telling the rest of the group to leave because he would be arrested.’Things must stop here,’ he said when he sat down.His earlier request to speak to the officer commanding the Department of Defence Mobilisation Centre in Bloemfontein, Brigadier General Morris Moadira, had been refused.Moadira told them the march was illegal and that they should go home.The group consisted of former soldiers of the South African Cape Corps, family members of former soldiers and several Eastern Cape youths who wanted to join the defence force for work.Moadira told them he was not at the scene to talk, but delivered a message from Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Godfrey Ngwenya, that the integration process had ended long ago.Whoever told them there was still an integration process into the defence force was lying, he said.January had promised former members of the SANDF, the SWATF and Koevoet cash payments from the department of defence.However, the SANDF had said that they would not allow anyone to enter any of their bases or units.The SANDF warned that the country’s security forces would ensure that no unauthorised people entered SANDF bases or units.It said the integration of former non-statutory forces and statutory force members to the SANDF was formally terminated in 2001.The names of those who were integrated had to appear on a certified personnel register submitted by the commanders of the forces.Earlier this month, Neville Waggie registered more than 5 000 former SWATF members in Windhoek alone, while many more registered in places such as Tsumeb, Mariental and Rehoboth.The organisation collected N$910 000 in ‘registration fees’ from the 5 000.Yesterday Waggie’s cellphone was off.Five years ago, a similar group also claimed to have access to millions from the SA government for former SWATF members.The South African National Military Veterans Forum, which also allegedly operated from Upington, collected N$55 from each of around 5 000 former SWATF members but nothing came of it.The Department of Pensions Administration in South Africa’s Ministry of Finance already indicated in 2004 that it had destroyed documents relating to ex-SWATF members.