Dear Editor Kindly find attached response to a virulent article which was published in The Observer newspaper of Saturday 17 December 2005 in which my name was mentioned. Article 21 of the Namibia Constitution under fundamental freedoms, subsection (1) states that: All persons have the right to: (a) freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media, and again under the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of Article 7 with regard to protection of liberty, it further states that: No person shall be deprived of personal liberty except according to procedures established by law, and Article 10 of the Namibia Constitution on Equality and Freedom from Discrimination states that: (a) All persons shall be equal before the law and no persons may be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status. Linked to this, or in the same spirit, the SWAPO Party Constitution under Article IV (c) On Rights and Obligations of its members, states that (2) a member of SWAPO Party has the following obligations: (a) to act with dedication and commitment in the interest of the Party and the national interest of Namibia; (h) to oppose factionalism and defend the Party; (i) to strive constantly to explain the aims and objectives, policies and the political directions of the Party to the masses and (j) to promote and exercise criticism without fear and self-criticism with a view to overcoming any defects, errors or deviations in the Party. Therefore it is against the foregoing provisions of the Namibian and SWAPO Party Constitution that I enforce my fundamental human rights and freedoms on the one hand as a Namibian citizen, and rights and obligations as a SWAPO Party member on the other hand as contained in those constitutions to respond to a highly opinionated defamatory and character-assassination article published in a weekly newspaper in which my name was repeatedly mentioned recently. I take strong exceptions to the allegations contained in that Article, and I’m duty bound to clear my name in that regard. Surely, the abusive language such as the ones written by a faceless writer quoted below will not go unchallenged: 1) “If ever there was one image that summarized the year’s political developments, it was that of Jesaya Nyamu putting a match to that SWAPO letter with John Pandeni’s signature at the bottom and, in doing so, lighting the fuse to the political bomb that is Sam Nujoma’s true legacy. Years from now, that flame which Nyamu put to that piece of paper will be recognized as the moment when every political landmine that Nujoma has ever left behind him in his scorched-earth, take no prisoners and never-ending quest for total power suddenly became active, ticking away as it became clear that SWAPO is about to tear itself apart. And the fuse is a long one – because, quite simply, the history is a long one: 43 years of abuse of power makes for many enemies and our former President, it would seem, never thought the day would come that he would have to answer to those he victimized with such arbitrary and routine cruelty,” the writer writes . 2) “And there are many bombs: the dungeons of Lubango, the abuses in the SWAPO camps (sexual and otherwise, all in the name of liberation). HH, Nyamu, Naholo and all others like him, the private DRC financial adventure – the list is long and depressing. The most explosive of all, however, remains those mass graves that the villagers in Owambo are now digging up willy-nilly. In the misguided hope of catching the eye of the previous executive (for they being tribal, truly comprehend the element of patronage that marked Nujoma’s presidency), they are in fact uncovering the political abyss that will eventually swallow Nujoma’s legacy,” the writer continued. 3) “And what is at stake here: We need to collectively, SWAPO and non-SWAPO alike, make sure this never happens again, or face the prospect of him turning his personality cult into a private monarchy that only has one aim: keeping him as our god or king. But he is neither – in spite of what his slavish followers would have us believe – but a man of flesh and blood like us, and one that needs to accept his place among us common women and men”; and, 4) ” Leaving aside for now the NUNW’s (sic) paid lackeys’ unvarnished lies, our very own Kazenambo Kazenambo writing in “Namibia Today” as an expert witness to the event – from what, as far as can be established, the relative safety of SWAPO’s Kwanza Zul Camp,” the writer wrote. Now I would like to debunk the intuitive lies of the faceless knee-jerk ghost writer who used the pages of the local weekly newspaper to spread his or her pack of lies, such as that “from what, as far as can be established, Kazenambo Kazenambo: KK, was at the relative safety of SWAPO’s Kwanza Zul Camp and that the absurdity of KK pretending to have been a guerrilla fighter (he could not have been much older than 12 or so at independence -or did SWAPO make use of child soldiers? ” The inference is that; apparently in their psychographic interpretation of things, only them and themselves only, are the ones who are supposed to have been genuine guerrilla fighters. As for others, (e.g. as they referred to me) they are supposed to have been just pretenders. The issue here is the multiplicity of lies and innuendoes carried in that piece such as those quoted above which I will tackle in the most strongest terms in this piece. I will not allow my sacrifices and contributions, and that of my parents who patriotically inspired me to join the armed liberation struggle, to continuously be distorted or erased by hard-core tribalists, renegades, revisionist , regionalists, chauvinists and factionalists who do not appreciate the role and contributions made by others, be it in relation to the liberation struggle or to the building of our united, democratic and peaceful Namibian nation which is founded on the principles of coexistence of the culturally diverse members of our rainbow nation under a one Namibia, one nation core principle. I owe it to myself, my immediate and extended relatives, progressive comrades, friends and fellow compatriots to set the record straight concerning the historical and contemporary political issues of which my reputation is being dragged in the mud with distortions written by disgruntled elements who fail to wake up and smell the coffee, and accept the reality that their wishful thinking of regarding themselves as the only superior first class citizens, superior guerrilla fighters, superior SWAPO Party members, superior academics and intellectuals, superior liberators, superior shrewd political strategists and best economic managers remains a pipe-dream – comparable to ownership of an imaginary paradise of castles built in the air. The prevailing situation whereby some of us are orally being insulted at cuca shops or through newspaper articles as political novices (or wet behind our ears), uneducated and too old Nujoma stooges or unvarnished lackeys, autocratic who lack constituencies or hail from so-called unpatriotic tribal or ethnical backgrounds, therefore qualifying to be pretenders as guerrilla fighters or trade unionists who are said to be “unvarnished lackeys” lacking liberation struggle credentials cannot be allowed to go unabated. Therefore, it needs to be confronted head-on and be exposed for what it is. I may be new to public office (parliamentary and other office) but my political pedigree cannot be referred to as a political novice. For God’s sake, how can I be a political novice even when the disgruntled elements claim that at 12 years, Kazenambo Kazenambo, KK was as Kwanza Zul in Angola? The yahoo (s) who claimed that I’m pretending to have been a guerrilla fighter should take note that, while some of them were idling aimlessly failing to complete their elementary studies at the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) in Lusaka, Zambia, I was deployed at the war zone in southern Angola for a consecutive five years, without any single day going back to Lubango, or failing to go on any operational military guerrilla missions or patrols. Like all other brave sons and daughters of Namibia, I put my life on the line – ready to sacrifice for the liberation of my motherland anytime, and there was no single day when I refused to go on guerrilla operational missions because of any excuse as some cowards, now who are talkative about guerrilla warfare, did. I joined the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) when I was 21 years old, and at Independence, I was 26 years old. These are hard facts about my background in PLAN, therefore shame on those yahoos who are trying to distort my age with their wiles with the aim of attempting to tarnish the image of SWAPO of Namibia and that of PLAN, by claiming that the movement was using child soldiers like their imaginary KK. It is of no help to put or ascribe words and remarks to me which I have never made. Let them be men or women enough to own and stand up for their convictions. I have never ever belonged to any faction in my life or political ideology which believed or purported that some Namibians are better Namibians than others, that they are better patriots than others, that they were better fighters in PLAN than others, and that they are better SWAPO trustworthy members than other members. Those who have suffered and who continue to suffer from that disease and delusion know themselves very well, therefore let them suffer their illusions, and let them dare not ascribe their irrational and irrelevant political fluff and defeatistist philosophy and sectarian ideology to me. It is an open secret that these yahoos and cahoots disregard and take other Namibians for granted, only regarding others as second class citizens, and in their self-fulfilling culture, you are only acceptable to them if you regard and accept to be secondary to them, and that is when they accept you as a good person. No wonder that they are falsely preaching that I’m pretending to have been a PLAN combatant, because in their delusion nobody else in Namibia is supposed to have been a competent PLAN fighter if he or she is not hailing from their kind It is against my personal principles and culture to judge people by their colour or language, but I have seen these done, by those whose principles are dictated by their stomachs, who behave as if they are your brothers, sisters, comrades and friends, as long as your interests are converging with theirs, mostly when theirs are greatly served at your expense. They disown, divorce, and erase your meaningful contributions and role once they are in disagreement or differ with you like they are doing to me that I’m pretending to have been a guerrilla fighter, despite the fact that I have put my life at risk in that regard. What a painful peevish remarks indiscriminately being made by these disgruntled elements against others without any iota of sensitivity towards the feelings of others? Many of us have seen this played out when these disgruntled elements targeted Geingob from the mid-90s onwards, and in fact this political evil was started long ago when they first targeted one reserved former Minister of Trade and Industry, and we have been witnessing with great concern similar dirty campaigns staged against the former President, and one wonders who will be the next in the firing range/line of these disgruntled elements? I’m not hailing from such a cultural background, therefore I see no need to brag around that ‘SWAPO, and SWAPO alone, was what liberated Namibia from the Boers’, hence that claim is theirs and theirs only. The elements should own or rehabilitate from that delusion which definitely does not belong to KK and Co., as they want to fool their rented credulous mob or followers who buy their political garbage or who are deceived by their crocodile tears. In fact, within Namibian political circles, it is known who are fond of categorizing people in such a mean way. The commonly known culprits of these are those elements who judge others from the geographical regions they hail from, and who irrationally determine what role one has to play in the Party or society because of his or tribal background. KK and Co. do not determine what role one has to play in his or her Namibian society on the basis of colour or ethnic background. As a matter of fact, KK and Co. are living victims of the political expedience and victimization of those who are now crying wolf that they are being witch-hunted or victimized. Namibia has gained its independence for the benefit of all its citizens irrespective of colour, tribe, language, gender, economic and social status, etc., therefore I for one will not go quiet or suffer in silence folding my arms while being harassed and intimidated by a few frustrated self-centered disgruntled elements who suffer from battered egos due to their failed political ambitions of insatiable hunger and thirst for power, and who are now cooked and consumed by bitterness, therefore seeking revenge in whatever way possible against anybody perceived to have not supported them in their contest to capture the highest public office in our country. Shame! What a pity? Although one really understands and appreciates their frustrations which derive from the fact that they have always believed and deceived themselves with their illusionary sense of entitlement which made them to behave as if they were the sole owners of Namibia who should prevail over others, be that as it may be, but their lack of sensitivity and their arrogant behaviour in dealing with other Namibians will no longer be tolerated or entertained by some of us -come hell or high water. Some of us will not sacrifice our freedoms and rights in our own country of heritage to be trampled upon and violated by a few disgruntled elements who want everything to only go or happen in their favour, else it should be spoiled/undermined or other people (like some of us) should be insulted and harassed into submission. Things should not continue to happen that way; there is a need for balance and order for mutual respect and benefits for all the inhabitants of this country. The funny behaviour and mindset of these disgruntled elements are grounded on the domination and suppression of other Namibians through abuse of democracy and superficial nationalism inclinations whereas in reality their true intention is to treat other Namibians as second-class citizens who are expected to exist on their terms and whims (terms and whims of the disgruntled elements) and who are supposed to be mistreated, discriminated against, and insulted at will – this should be confronted and rejected with all contempt it deserves. It is under that perverted political mindset of these elements of which anybody genuinely found or perceived to be not supporting their ambitions for their pursuance of power is insulted or condemned on the basis of his or her poor education, ethnic or regional background, etc. For them, you are either with them or else you must be libelled to be belonging to the axis of evil in the form of a lack of a tribal constituency within the party, being incompetent due to lack of education or due to your advanced age, being sidelined and marginalized as a non-trusted or loyal party cadre on the basis of your tribal or ethnic background, or being regarded as belonging to one clustered regional clique or another, if not anything or something else to be used to assassinate your character in one way or another. You cannot build and keep a diverse nation like that of Namibia on the basis of this premise; therefore these disgruntled elements must stop their nonsensical political provocations capable of undermining the unity of this nation. In their taking-no-prisoner approach against their genuine or perceived non-supporters, which these disgruntled elements started underground in the mid-90s, we are continuously being provoked with provocation after the other, being called all sorts of names with our characters being assassinated left, right and center. In their taking-no-prisoner approach, we have seen many casualties of their political expediencies and machinations whereby they referred to some public institutions as being tribal institutions (e.g. the University of Namibia being called the Ovaherero University) and under the same spirit or perhaps understanding, the same disgruntled elements even made calls for the investigation of Parliament (the National Assembly) which they alleged to be dominated by Ova-herero-speaking Namibians. And again in the same vein, we witnessed the cleansing of some people from executive positions in the parastatals and other semi-state owned entities during the period when the political expediency and detrimental insinuations of these disgruntled elements were at their highest epoch of victimization of other unsuspecting Namibians from the mid-90s to 2003 mostly when they were busy positioning themselves to capture the highest public office in the land. I still remember how personally I was blocked to become the Managing Director of Namibia Wildlife Resorts, because I was known to be a non-supporter of a then certain influential politician who was capable of pulling strings behind the scene for the ruining or rejection (victimization ) of his genuine or perceived non- supporters, who now himself is claiming to be a victim of political witch-hunts, and who is pretending to be holier than the holy spirit itself, and who is claiming to be more innocent than innocence itself. With that experience, some of us are not surprised to see the current targeting and clustering of people by these disgruntled failed elements into the so-called Omusati Clique and the ‘crop of youth leaders’ like myself (KK) and Paulus Kapia said to be a Nujoma-for-life faction who are being accused to have been infiltrated into the government by Nujoma in his so-called attempts “to sideline the entire SWAPO leadership corps (at least those who are not part of the Nujoma-for-life faction)” . An appeal for reconciliation has been preached over and over, but it has either fallen on deaf ears, or it appears to be a terminology which seems to be not existing in the vocabulary nor rings a bell in the psychic of the failed disgruntled elements of our country. Some of us are direct victims who have suffered and continue to suffer from the provocations, political expediencies and machinations of these disgruntled elements since 1997, when the divide and rule tactics of these provocateurs were unleashed. Peevish remarks such as “now KK is not yet 40, as far as I can tell, and is part of the crop of ‘youth leaders’ like the disgraced Paulus Kapia whom Nujoma has infiltrated into the government as part of his attempts to sideline the entire SWAPO leadership corps (at least those who are not part of the Nujoma-for-life faction)”; and, “The absurdity of KK pretending to have been a guerilla fighter (he could not have been much older than 12 or so at independence – or did SWAPO make use of child soldiers?) are only exceeded by the dimensions of the Big Lie he is trying to tell: that SWAPO, and SWAPO alone, was what liberated Namibia from the Boers (And please excuse the racist term here, it belongs to KK and Co.)”, which were made by the ghost writer sound all familiar provocations to me. The above quoted provocative remarks remind me of the dirty campaign which was directed against some of us who supported former Prime Minister Hage Geingob’s bid for the position of Vice-President of the SWAPO Party at the 1997 SWAPO Party Congress. I still vividly remember how the very same disgruntled elements who are now crying wolf t