This piece is a response to a barrage of lies, insults and fabrications packaged and distributed through the mass media; newspapers, magazines, social media such as Facebook and Twitter against some of us.
Tribalists and racists, habitual pathological liars who pretend to be nationalists and democrats continue to poison the genesis and anatomy of the body politic by undermining harmonious coexistence between individuals and communities in this beautiful country.
The uncalled for provocations which are always triggered by these provocateur elements who dismally fail to fathom and accept democratic outcomes that have not gone their way, pose a great risk to the stability of our beloved country. These greedy elements want to dominate and control everything for their sole benefit, be it the political space or economic opportunities in this country.
Some Namibians are losing businesses – their tenders cancelled without any justification, their land illegally taken or occupied by others, while some are suspended/dismissed from their jobs in the public and private sectors on the basis of unfounded grounds.
Job security in Namibia is slowly but surely becoming a privilege for the few who are politically or economically connected to the powers that be (leaders of the network of the political and economic elite).
As all may know, some communities in Namibia have lived under war siege and fought many battles from 1800 – 1989. From the brave battles fought by the combatants of Mandume Ya Ndemufayo, Nehale ya Mpingana, Ipumbu ya Shilongo in the northern parts of our country, to those that were fought under the leadership of Hendrik Witboi, Jacob Murenga and others in the south – those fought by the soldiers of Chief Kahimemua and Maherero in the eastern part and central parts of our country, and the latest one that closed the chapter of all wars that involved all Namibian fighters from all corners of this country under the leadership of Sam Nujoma and other leaders from across our country, some of us thought thus that there will be no more oppression and no more wars in Namibia. But the unfolding geo-political situation taking place in this country at the moment suggests otherwise.
National reconciliation negatively exploited
The awareness of our historical background made many Namibians to welcome the policy of national reconciliation. But the tragedy is that apparently while some communities and national leaders in general naively, honestly and openly embraced others from amongst our culturally diverse society, the elements exploited the gesture and opportunity to establish their untouchable dynasties and personal empires at the expense of other Namibians. Today some people are told in their face without shame that they must be thankful to so and so because otherwise they could not have advanced to their stage of success had it not been due to so and so, or due to this or that ethnic community’s role. What more can be an insult than this?
And one always wonders why those leaders whose names are thrown around in the process of the bashing of other leaders and communities remain quiet without distancing themselves from those retrogressive and reactionary insinuations. Who in this country may claim that he/she was never carried by others (be it members of his/her community, comrades, friends, and other communities) here and abroad in the long mission of our struggle, even in post-independent Namibia.
Who is fooling who?
It is foolhardy, banal and myopic for one to think that the people who lived under an oppressive and discriminatory environment in the past will not be able to see when they are being subjected to a situation similar to the one they have experienced in the past.
I have objectively observed over years that in many a time, double standard based on biasness, favouritism and selective morality is applied in addressing cases of socio-political and economic injustice in this country. By way of illustration, for an example, cases of unfairness and injustice being meted out by the Ovaherero over their fellow Ovaherero, Ovambaderu over their fellow Ovambanderu, Ovawambo over their fellow Ovawambo, Damara over their fellow Damara, Nama over their fellow Nama, German over their fellow German, women over their fellow women etc, or in a nutshell, Namibians over their fellow Namibian compatriots are conveniently ignored or treated lightly as if they are not violating or breaching the core principles of fairness, solidarity and justice upon which this nation was founded.
For quite a long time, some of us were blinded by our quest for the liberation of our motherland as our aims and objectives were to build a true one Namibia one nation of equal citizens as stipulated in our country’s constitution.
The commitment by some of us to the progressive principles, and values of freedom, solidarity and justice for all, ethos for which we strived and made prime sacrifices, and that knitted us together during the long and bitter liberation struggle which was foreseen by one of the icons of our liberation struggle, our living hero Comrade Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, and these apparently are no longer guiding principles nor considerations for some of our lads/folks in this country.
Highlights and illustration
Firstly, for the elements as informed by their sense of entitlement, it is not offensive when a journalist approaches Kazenambo to ask his response that “your fellow Cabinet colleagues are alleging that when you went to collect the skulls from Germany you were behaving more of a Herero leader than a national leader?”
For the notorious elements, this is not an insult to Kazenambo and to the community of which Kazenambo’s behaviour is likened to, but what is taken as an imaginary staged crime is when Kazenambo demand to know who are the said Cabinet ministers, and is that not a provocative stupid question posed by that particular journalist?
On the basis of a sense of entitlement, the general tribe of which the concerned journalist hails from is roped in and portrayed as having been insulted as ‘stupid and hungry’, the opposite which is the truth that all the other members of that tribe are not that specific journalist nor are they the alleged Cabinet ministers?
Along the same line of thought, another journalist who was ridiculing the return of the skulls from Germany, approached Kazenambo (then Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture) and asked him why he wasted taxpayers’ money with the exorbitant budget or unnecessary high financial costs used for the return of those skulls from Germany?
When Kazenambo cautioned the concerned journalist about his reckless, insensitive and irresponsible question on that sensitive matter, hell broke loose as my vilification and demonisation became the order of the day. Calls for my removal from public office were intensified, till it was fulfilled, as myself also started pleading with the appointing authority to relieve me of my public duties in order for me to get out of these imaginary fabricated and staged crimes.
The journalists who were the bearers of the bad news (the agents of the provocateur elements) were not seen and treated as the messengers of provocative divisive message, but on the basis of selective morality and double standards, the victim (Kazenambo) is portrayed as the villain, while the villain (the journalists and the alleged Cabinet ministers) are treated as the victims.
Secondly, Kazenambo’s case is of no difference to that of a young Namibian lady who was almost prevented from going to further her studies in India on full sponsored Indian scholarship. Along the lines of the culture of fabricated staged imaginary crime, she was accused of being an automatic member/supporter of RDP for her tribal origins. This apparently justified the actions of some notorious elements to deny her to go further her studies in India. She only managed to go to India after the so-called anti-Owambo Kazenambo indicated that he was to resign from his then Deputy Ministerial position on account of the injustices that were being done against that young woman.
Some of us have come to know it the hard way, that when any Namibian is targeted for victimisation by the elements of darkness that abuse power and violate other citizens’ human rights in this country, you are either portrayed as a tribalist, racist, gay, corrupt or with other negative vices that will justify your victimisation irrespective of your ethnic, religious, gender, economic status or political affiliation.
When Kazenambo is the target for victimisation, he is portrayed as anti-Owambo, and when you happen to belong to one of the heterogeneous Owambo tribes, then your tribal identity is no longer an issue, something else is cooked/concocted such as you are a drug addict, prostitute, gay, a witch or anti-this or that which may be regarded as anti-social by the powers that be and justify your victimisation with fabricated imaginary staged crime. The elements will unleash a smear campaign against you until you fall in one way or another.
The very same Kazenambo who is bashed left, right and center as anti-Owambo stood his ground when the innocent Commissioner of the National Youth Service, Commissioner Onesmus Upindi was haunted and targeted for unjust removal from the public post he currently holds. Negative fabricated stories of dirty smear campaign were being thrown left, right and center that he was an untrustworthy corrupt man who was destroying the National Youth Service.
Thirdly, recently in one of the newspapers, it was written that no one forced Kazenambo to join the liberation struggle from Botswana, therefore he must be thankful that a certain tribe made him who he is today? Come on, for how long must one tolerate these perpetual nonsensical provocations and insults done by the reactionary elements against many people in this country? I never knew that the struggle for the liberation of Namibia was a tribal liberation struggle. This is really going too far. Who is anti-who in this country, and why and for what? Moreover, be that as it may, for some of us, the Kazenambos who passed through the grill before, it is business as usual, the struggle for genuine freedom, solidarity and justice for all continues, and victory is certain. The elements will not succeed to demoralise or make some of us to despair and abandon our resolve to stand for inclusivity, fairness and justice for all on the principles of mutual respect for mutual co-existence of our culturally diverse people of Namibia.
Forward ever backward never! May God continue to bless this beautiful country with sustainable ever-lasting peace and tranquility. That is it!
• Kazenambo Kazenambo is a Swapo Party MP.
By Kazenambo Kazenambo