Former president Hifikepunye Pohamba has urged the Legislature and Judiciary to develop stringent measures and laws to mitigate the impact of verbal attacks and insults on national leaders.
He made these remarks on Saturday during the conferment ceremony of President Nangolo Mbumba, the fourth President of Namibia.
President Mbumba was conferred with the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis.
Traditionally, the conferment ceremony involves the incoming president receiving the sash from the outgoing president.
However, Mbumba was not conferred with the sash on the day he assumed office due to the circumstances surrounding his assumption.
The ceremony on Saturday was held to complete the tradition that was missed in February.
Pohamba presented the yellow and green sash. He took the chair when he delivered his speech to inform Mbumba, along with the legislators, lawmakers and judiciary present at the event of the need to establish laws to protect leaders from public insults.
“Something must be done. We are tired of being insulted. They have insulted Sam Nujoma. This is too much. I can assure you if I could do something, and see someone insulting Nujoma, I would give him or her a good hiding. This is too much,” he deplored.
He continued: “Something needs to be done urgently. In my opinion, these insults can cause instability in our peaceful country. Hence, they must be prevented now rather than later”.
He said Mbumba has been a persistent leader, who has made significant contributions to the government of Namibia in various sectors.
The former president said Mbumba rose to leadership when he was first appointed by the first president of the country in 1993 as minister of agriculture, water and rural development. He said Mbumba possessed unique characteristics of not rushing to prove a point, calmness, and knowing how to handle delegates, which helped him succeed in executing his duties.
At the same occasion, President Mbumba said “president Pohamba has mentioned things that we are doing wrong. I am not going to repeat them, but for the sake of peace and stability in this country, the insulting of the elder is tantamount to blasphemy”.
He continued. “When one day you will meet the children of those you are insulting today, do not say Pohamba did not warn you”. The president used the opportunity to thank his mentors, who groomed him into leadership, and said “leaders are not born; they are created. They are forged in the furnace of life, and moulded by their experiences as they traverse the course of their destiny”.
“I would not be the person I am today without those people who have played an invaluable role in shaping my beliefs, thoughts and character as I navigated the course of my destiny.
Many of those people are present here today, some are not – and sadly, others have passed on.
May their beautiful souls rest in eternal peace. But no matter where they are, they are the reason I am standing here today,” he acclaimed.
*This story’s headline was changed to correct an error. The initial headline: ‘Pohamba: Insulting Nujoma tantamount to blasphemy’ is wrong. However, it was not former president Pohamba who said it but President Nangolo Mbumba instead.