2008-02-25Staff Report 2 "By Reagan Malumo KATIMA MULILO The Swapo Party secretary for information and mobilisation at Katima Mulilo, John Mukaya, has lambasted the local Caprivi Vision newspaper for publishing Mishake Muyongo's New Year message to the people of Caprivi. Mukaya, who also referred to the paper as a mouthpiece of both Muyongo and his United Democratic Party (UDP), has accused the local publication of stirring up trouble and confusion in the region and called on the Ministry of Safety and Security to investigate the editor of the newspaper, Risco Lumamezi. ""Where (sic) does this guy use to communicate with Muyongo and why is the Government quiet on this? This is why we need a media council to deal with issues of this kind,"" said Mukaya, who also noted that since the inception of the paper, it has been publishing Muyongo's end of year and New Year mes- sages to the Caprivi Region. Muyongo's message was carried on the front page of the recent edition of this local monthly publication and has caught the attention of most newsreaders in the region. In his address, Muyongo called on all 'Caprivians' to stand united in order to take up an armed struggle to liberate the Caprivi Region from its occupation by Namibia. ""Countrymen and women, allow me therefore to say to you wherever you are that let us unite our efforts. It is in unity that we can find strength and wisdom and it is with strength that we can destroy those who are occupying our country by force of arms. Pulling and working together can bring the desired results that are freedom and independence for the CAPRIVI and the people. The oppressive regime of Namibia has run out of ideas as far as the Caprivi is concerned,"" said Muyongo in his address. Muyongo accused the Namibian Government of mistreating his supporters by 'imprisoning them and killing them by shooting and food poisoning and some died from mysterious illnesses in prison'. ""We have tried, in past years since our exile, to inform the United Nations and other international organisations about our struggle for freedom and independence. In some cases our message was received and in others an explanation had to be followed many a time,"" he said. Muyongo concluded his message by the slogan ""UDP! UDP! Bulela sicaba sa utwa!"" - meaning 'UDP! UDP! Talk, the nation is listening'. He appealed to all Caprivians whether at home, in exile or in refugee camps to do some soul searching and reach out to the other Caprivians for the good of the struggle and Caprivi. Meanwhile, Mukaya further accused the Caprivi Vision of spearheading Muyongo's agenda at the expense of the people of Caprivi. He also referred to Muyongo as a criminal whose agenda is to foster personal ambitions using the people of Caprivi. He said it is high time that all those who follow him realise that they are being misled. ""Caprivi is part of Namibia and all regions in Namibia are independent and are living in peace, so we do not need any other so-called independence,"" said Mukaya, who stressed that Muyongo does not represent anyone in Caprivi and wondered by whose mandate he makes his address. Mukaya stressed that the people of Caprivi will not sit idle and let the armed clash that took place in 1999 repeat itself. ""We are now united as comrades and the region is now calm and we are united like never before,"" he concluded. Meanwhile, some residents of the region condemned the message and expressed fear that it might stir up tribal tension and confusion in the region. The editor of Caprivi Vision confirmed to New Era that Muyongo forwarded the message to him via e-mail and that he decided to publish it with the intention to stimulate a platform for debate. ""People need to talk about those issues, we cannot just leave them like that,"" he said. Muyongo escaped from Namibia in 1999 following his attempt to dismember the Caprivi Region from Namibia through a failed armed uprising. He now lives in Denmark, where he was allegedly granted political asylum. " 2008-02-25Staff Report 2
