Swapo parliamentarian Elder Filipe has strongly warned against selective justice.
He cautioned class and race should not be a consideration when applying justice.
His caution follows recent failed protests to have Mariental farmer Johan Meyer re-arrested and his bail revoked for allegedly deliberately running over and killing a nine-year-old girl.
On 4 May 2022, the farmer allegedly caused the death of Hendrina Amupolo, who has since been laid to rest.
She succumbed to her injuries at Mariental state hospital after Hardap irrigation scheme farmer Meyer allegedly drove over her at his plot near Mariental.
Subsequently, he received bail of N$3 000 when he appeared in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court.
Meyer was charged with culpable homicide.
Filipe, during the appropriation bill debate in the National Council yesterday, said he is heavily burdened and central to his pains is the selective justice that is meted out by the courts of late.
He vowed in a free and independent country, “we cannot see, accept, tolerate and be subjected to selective justice.”
According to him, that sort of justice should belong to the past and be buried as a painful memory. He argued a black mother stealing a sausage at a grocery store is arrested and is confined behind bars for months because she has no money for bail.
“The reason she stole was either because she was hungry or her children were hungry and she had no money to buy the sausage or bread. A black boy stealing a goat sits behind bars for years because the police investigation is not concluded. The system cannot allow him bail. The reason he stole the goat was poverty – poverty that was imposed on him by the system. But a well-off white man who kills a defenceless nine-year-old Hendrina Amupolo because she allegedly entered his property illegally gets bail overnight,” Filipe, who is also the Grootfontein constituency councillor, questioned.
He said the whole of Mariental was hurled in mourning by this cruel act, but the system was inconsiderate to their plight and chose to rule in favour of class or race.
He asked, “how can our system be against the poorest of the poor and the black race?”
Further, he contented the black boy can be made to work on the farm to reimburse the farmer or the black mother can be made to sweep the floors to repay the sausage or bread.
“But how can the white man bring that poor child back to life? We are talking about a life that was taken away forever. Was it class or race that was applied in this instance?” Filipe asked.
He also cited the incident of a British businessman, Harvey Boulter, who did not spend a single day in a cell after having allegedly shot and killed his farmworker.
“He was in absolutely good health when they had a spit braai and good whiskey on the night of the shooting incident, but the next day he was admitted to the comfort of a private hospital bed where he spent almost five months until he received bail,” he charged.
“Even our police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga questioned the alleged preferential treatment at the time. My question, was it class or race that was the main consideration?”
According to him, when poor people get killed, there is no noise, but when the elite are involved, then there is even a moment of silence for them.
He said he would have expected massive noise for the killing of Amupolo just like the nation made noise when the Fishrot accused are seeking bail or when granted.
“If we look at the application of law in the Fishrot case, we are happy that the alleged perpetrators are kept behind bars for three years without bail. When one of the accused got bail, we made noise. Noise against a black person – by black people. We even have a term for this sort of action, it is called black hate,” Filipe continued.
“But what is good for the goose should be good for the gander. We cannot allow the law to be applied to the letter of the word if it is against black people, but look at the same law with a softer heart when we deal with white people. This crap should stop in a free Namibia. We are no more subjected to the white man’s selective justice; we are now under one impartial criminal justice system.”
anakale@nepc.com.na