By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK Around 60 people from civil society yesterday morning staged a demonstration outside the gates of the Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe in Windhoek to protest against President Robert Mugabe’s visit to Namibia. The Zimbabwean President arrived on Tuesday afternoon for a four-day state visit. The demonstration started at 09h00 and lasted for about an hour. Standing about 25 metres away from the high commission’s gates under the eye of about 35 police officers, demonstrators carried placards with messages such as “Mugabe hear the cries of the people”; “Arrest the Tyrant” among other belittling, undiplomatic messages. A representative from the Civil Society Rosa Namises condemned Mugabe’s visit, adding that Namibia already has problems especially with its land reform programme which she views as having inequalities. “When our leaders are letting us down, they are no longer heroes. When the people are hungry, unemployment high and lack of cash-flow, all this is killing,” said the activist. Namises did not mince her words as she also attacked New Era for carrying articles which in her view glorify the visiting President. Not every demonstrator seemed to have had a good understanding of what they were demonstrating for. When New Era asked one woman why she was protesting, she responded, because Mugabe is “hungry” and is in Namibia to “eat” her food. The demonstration according to a statement from the National Society for Human Rights, “was to add to the ever growing international outrage over the dangerous human rights, humanitarian and human security situation, which is prevailing in Zimbabwe.” “We are calling upon President Mugabe and his government immediately to respect for the work of human rights defenders as envisaged in the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and to create an enabling environment, which would allow such HRDs and other activists, to operate without fear of harassment, detention and or torture,” read the statement. The statement also blamed the 83-year-old president for genocidal massacre of more than 7 000 people in Matebeleland. President Mugabe visited the Lev Leviev Diamond (LLD) Company and the Heroes Acre before meeting with various business personalities last evening. Today he is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Nahas Angula and the Speaker of the National Assembly Theo-Ben Gurirab before departing for the coast in the afternoon. He leaves tomorrow.