WINDHOEK – Swapo member of parliament Kazenambo Kazenambo has called on government to take a serious look into all complexities surrounding the citizenship status of returnees of Namibian origin from Botswana.
“It is hypocrisy of the highest order on our part that we have declared chiefs Samuel Maharero, Hendrik Witbooi, Jacob Marengo, Kahimemua Nguvauva and others as heroes for having led the war of resistance against the German imperialists, yet their offspring are treated as second-class citizens”, Kazenambo said while tabling a motion on the subject in parliament last week.
“It is a shame that we discriminate against the sons and descendants of people like the late Daniel Munamava, Hanganee Katjipuka and even the sons and daughters of Stanley who himself assisted the founding father Dr Sam Nujoma to cross the border into Botswana,” he added.
Between 1904 and 1908 hordes of Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and the Namas fled Namibia to Botswana to escape the fatal indiscriminate wrath of German colonial troops who were acting on a termination order of their commanders at some stage of the war.
Kazenambo acknowledges the efforts made by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration and the Botswana High Commission in Windhoek concerning the provision of Namibia national identity documents to some of the returnees, but maintained that a lot still needs to be done to solve the matter satisfactorily.
Kazenambo called on government to register the returnees from Botswana under the citizenship by descent proviso which they naturally deserve and are entitled to.
The former youth and sport minister also highlighted that those who have returned home are being denied scholarships, amongst other things, because they do not have Namibian national identity documents.
“There are many of these young educated people working in your offices as cleaners and security guards just because they don’t have IDs,” he said, adding that even the son of Katjikoro who chauffeured many Namibian politicians, is working at Windhoek Hilton Hotel as a cleaner.
He said many of them cannot get jobs in the Namibian Police or Namibian Defence Force because they do not possess national documents of identity.
“These are the sons and daughters whose parents fought for the independence of this country but still they are being treated as foreigners in the country of their origin,” he continued.
Nudo MP Arnold Tjihuiko supported the motion, but refused to blame drafters of the Namibian constitution for the issue.
“I will continue to blame ourselves sitting in this chamber [parliament] now for having realised that there was a critical omission in the constitution, but we were quiet on that”, he said.