Windhoek
The Namibian diplomatic mission in South Africa said the Namibia flag being paraded as part of support group for convicted killer and disgraced former Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius does not enjoy official permission.
This comes after a pressure group, called ‘Support for Oscar Pistorius’, revealed pictures on its Facebook page bearing among other flags, that of Namibia on a banner with the title: “Worldwide Support for Oscar Pistorius”.
Last year, the athlete was found guilty of murder after a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict. He killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in on Valentine’s Day in February 2013 after shooting at her four times through a locked toilet door.
The Paralympian is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his five-year sentence in jail. The pressure group on which the Namibian flag appeared is advocating for a more lenient sentence for Pistorius.
It is not yet clear whether there are individual names of citizens or organisations under each flag of those countries said to be supporting his cause. The group is receiving growing media attention in South Africa, as the sentencing day draws near.
Despite an indication that its page group administrator typically replies to private messages within minutes, the group did not respond to New Era’s queries seeking clarity on the use of the Namibian flag.
Several locals contacted this newspaper yesterday to enquire whether this was an official government position and said they did not want the country’s national symbol to be linked to such dubious causes.
New Era contacted the Namibian High Commission in South Africa early yesterday morning, but did not get any official response before going to print. A senior official at the mission, however, explained that they were not aware of the use of the Namibian flag by the campaigning group, but admitted having read of the group in the papers.
The official agreed with the concerns of Namibians who feel that a negative image is being crafted internationally as a result of the Namibian flag being on that campaign banner. It is understood that the mission has now started to investigate the matter.
On its Facebook page the group indicates that the cause was started to support Pistorius throughout his ordeal following the tragic events that led to his conviction… “And as a reminder of everything he has achieved, not only in sports, but also as an ambassador for countless charity foundations and an acknowledgement of his social commitments in general”.
“We are a group of loyal supporters. We are in no way related to Oscar, or other members of the Pistorius family. We have no connection, either social or business, with any of Oscar’s family,” they proclaim.
The group also claims that it has never met Oscar and that the Pistorius family has made no contribution to its social media campaigns. “We do this because we respect and believe in him wholeheartedly. We don’t expect anything in return. Oscar has given the world so much in the past, we feel it is appropriate to give something back.”
Pistorius is expected to be sentenced in June.