By George Sanzila
KATIMA MULILO – A youth activist in the Zambezi Region, Charles Siyauya, has accused the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) of illegally entering Namibia and “abducting” about 70 Namibian fishermen.
The alleged illegal entry and abduction of the fishermen occurred early this month at Situngu Island in Kapani area west of the Zambezi Region.
Namibia and Botswana were previously locked in a territorial land dispute over Situngu Island.
Siyauya says the fishermen who the BDF believed were fishing illegally in their waters were subjected to torture and fines before being released, without knowledge of the Namibian authorities.
Siyauya who on Thursday last week hastily organised a media briefing as a concerned resident in the company of 30 of the 70 alleged victims stated that he learnt about the abduction through a text message.
Ninenteen of those detained were women with babies and they endured up to four days in detention.
Siyauya narrated that upon hearing about the incident he alerted the regional leadership but to no avail and took it upon himself to drive to Botswana “to see for myself”.
“We drove to the Kachikau police station of Chobe district where we were received by the station commander, T R Samasasa, who confirmed that about 70 Namibians were detained for illegally crossing into Botswana. We introduced ourselves as citizens following up on our family members abducted by the BDF. We asked to see one of the people abducted and he told us that they were arrested while on the Namibian side,” said the outspoken youth activist.
When Siyauya asked what would happen to those abducted, he was told by the station commander that a fine amounting to 100 pula (N$120) was applicable before deportation and failure to pay would result in corporal punishment with a cane.
Siyauya said he was unable to get hold of Zambezi Regional Governor Lawrence Sampofu when he returned from Botswana, as he was said to be outside the region and then decided to alert State House and the Minister of Defence, Nahas Angula.
“We were told the governor was not around. The chairperson of the regional council also travelled to Windhoek. We decided to alert Comrade Christine //Hoebes at State House who directed us to inform the Minister of Defence,” said Siyauya.
He described the alleged incident as an act of terror and dismissed claims by the BDF that people arrested were illegal immigrants.
“The BDF entered Namibian territory without passports and with guns loaded with live ammunition. This incident occurred on Saturday, 5 July 2014 at the Namibian side of the Chobe River in the Kapani area. This is an act of terror and must be condemned by all peace-loving SADC citizens. None of the victims were poachers or illegal immigrants and BDF had no justification for their barbaric action,” charged Siyauya.
Siyauya further alleged that the BDF burnt the fish that was confiscated together with canoes and the makeshift tents that served as the fishermen’s shelter on the island.
“The fishermen’s livelihood depends on the fish, nets and canoes that were set on fire by the BDF. As if that were not enough, the BDF further set fire to the camping facilities for fishermen and fish traders. We demand that the government of Botswana account for their senseless acts.”
This was confirmed by Berio Sihina, one of 19 women fish vendors who were part of the detained group.
“They came with choppers and started searching us but could not find anything. They came armed with guns and started pushing us around. They burned our nets, canoes and fish,” said Sihina.
Thomas Lubinda, also one of those detained, said they were told that it was a joint operation with the Namibian authorities but no Namibian official was seen during the raid.
“They loaded us in the hovercraft, telling us they are taking us to a place where they will meet the Namibian police but we did not see any Namibian policeman – only Namibian fisheries officials who could not do anything. Afterwards they took us to Kachikau police station where they detained us for three days,” said Lubinda.
According to Lubinda the detainees were not immediately charged and only told to pay fines or else face corporal punishment.
“We were not charged, we were only told everyone should pay 100 pula or get whipped. Some people paid, some got whipped. They made us sign papers we did not have time to read. We were overcrowded in their holding facilities with no food, and no bathing or proper toilets,” he said.
Contacted for comment, the Botswana High Commission in Namibia stated that it was not aware of the incident but would investigate the matter by this week.
“We are not aware of that, that is news to us but we will follow it up by next week,” said a diplomat at the Botswana High Commission in Windhoek to whom this reporter was referred for comment.
Sampofu the Zambezi Regional Governor could also not comment on the matter, stating that he was outside the region and needed to consult his counterpart in Botswana to verify the claims.
“I was outside the region for two weeks. I just heard from the alleged victims. I have yet to talk to the district commissioner for Chobe to get the details,” said Sampofu.
Police regional spokesperson, Sergeant Kisco Sitali however confirmed that indeed Namibians were arrested in the area together with other foreigners from Angola and Zambia they had employed as fishermen.
He however said the Namibians arrested were found on the Botswana side of the river.
“We are aware of the issue. People were arrested but we don’t know their number. They were detained at Kachikau in Botswana. Among them were Zambians and Angolans they had employed as fishermen. We visited the area where they were arrested and indeed we found that it was on the Botswana side,” said Sitali.
Relations between the two countries almost soured in 2012 following the killing of two Namibians suspected to be poachers by the BDF at the area of Nakabolelwa bordering the two countries. At the time it was claimed about 30 Namibians also faced a similar fate.
The two countries have a long history of territorial disputes, with Situngu Island forming part of the protracted wrangles.