WINDHOEK – Minister of Defence Penda Ya Ndakolo says the army has no deliberate policy of shooting at innocent civilians but the behaviour of some ‘rotten eggs’ amongst the public has contributed to recent shooting incidents.
He delivered these remarks in the National Assembly on Tuesday. But he warned that anyone who might harbour ill intentions towards the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) members would be dealt with accordingly.
He said that there are no deliberate orders, either from the Commander-in-Chief President Hage Geingob, himself or the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) John Mutwa to kill innocent civilians.
However, the situation on the ground unfortunately resulted in shooting incidents in which lives were lost, he acknowledged.
“The MoD has no deliberate policy of shooting at or killing innocent civilians, but the behaviour of some rotten eggs is contributing to these incidents,” the defence minister told parliamentarians.
“In all the recorded cases involving NDF members, the victims were either trying to avoid or running away from the members on patrol,” he said.
“This is very unfortunate. Therefore, I appeal to the members of the public to cooperate with and obey the instructions of members on patrol to avoid similar incidents in future.”
He said shooting incidents in recent months are deeply regrettable, as they send a wrong perception to the general public about the main objective of the ongoing joint Operation Kalahari Desert, which is to protect citizens and their properties.
Ya Ndakolo said to prevent shooting incidents all members participating in Operation Kalahari Desert underwent a three-day induction course, which included, amongst other subjects, the code of conduct, common rules of engagement and Criminal Procedure Act.
He said after the latest incident, the Chief of the Defence Force amended his operational orders for the same purpose of avoiding more fatalities.
Furthermore, Ya Ndakolo warned citizens not to record video of NDF and Nampol officers while on duty, saying it is prohibited because it is dangerous, as such video could be used to identify the members who were at the spot for possible revenge or some other criminal intents.
“These days videos can be doctored and used for all sorts of bad intentions. So, members of the public are cautioned to refrain from taking videos of security forces members in operation,” he said.
Ya Ndakolo further blamed some media outlets, members of the public and politicians whom he said were sensationalising the unfortunate incidents and using them to mislead and inflate the feelings of the public.