ONGWEDIVA – Petrus Lazarus, a member of the Namibia War Veterans Trust (Namvet), claims he spent several hours being questioned by police officers, following recent threats of a fatal nature made against national leaders.
Mbwila, as Lazarus is affectionately known among his former Koevoet and SWATF peers, claims that police officers in civilian clothing came to his house and told him that they wanted to talk to him, but they preferred to go with him to the police station.
Instead of the police station, the two police officers allegedly drove to Ruben Danger Ashipala Police Training Centre, formally known as Ondangwa Police Training Centre, where they found three other men who were also not wearing uniforms. He claims that he was only released a few hours later.
Lazarus owns a piece of land where his association recently held a press conference under the leadership of its chairperson Frans ‘Jabulani’ Ndeunyema. Ndeunyema threatened to “put sand in the meal and spoil it all for Swapo” if the ruling party tries to interfere with Namvet’s money that was allegedly kept in a certain institution in South Africa.
Namvet members also demanded an apology over remarks that former Koevoet and SWATF members were responsible for the bomb that killed 27 people in a bank in 1989.
It was also at that conference where Ndeunyema remarked that President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Founding President Sam Nujoma should know that “what killed Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein of Iraq was still hungry”.
This was interpreted by many to mean that the two Namibian national leaders could face the same fate as Gaddafi, who was killed by rebels after a 2011 revolution. Hussein was hanged after American and British troops invaded Iraq in 2003.
Namibian Police Head of Public Relations, Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi said Lazarus’ claims about interrogations have not come to his attention.
“I cannot confirm or deny that it took place, I was just not briefed about something like that,” said Kanguatjivi.
Ndeunyema, however, confirmed to New Era that Lazarus was indeed taken in for questioning.
He said that he was not against the idea of his people being questioned by members of the police or members of national intelligence, but this must be done in the open and not in secrecy.