By Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange
IT unfortunately appears there is a serious trend and unacceptable re-emergence of racism among certain uncles in some places of our country such as Gobabis.
People who are inclined to practice racism are very dangerous and can in the long run cause havoc in this country. Their tendency to reintroducing and inclination towards bringing back apartheid in whatever form through crooked and concealed ways is indeed a recipe for disaster and spells the destruction of our peaceful country. Some are even abusing the human rights enshrined in our constitution to achieve their Machiavellian, harmful and dangerous desires and plans. Recently I went to one of the big shops in Gobabis. I could not believe what I experienced in that shop. The humiliation to which I and my colleagues where subjected to just reminded me of the olden days of the apartheid rule of our country, which many of us fought against and liberated our country and my mood and peace of mind was disturbed the rest of the day. Some people who were in the shop saw me and recognized me and noticed what was happening. They just came to me and told me that this particular shop is notorious and is known for treating black people with disrespect and that white people are always given respect and good treatment.
I just said to them that I can see and do believe what they are telling me. It became obvious to me that many people are sick and tired about the treatment they are subjected to at this big shop. It was, indeed, a terrible experience for such things and behaviour to happen in a free and independent Namibia for which some of us fought very hard to liberate from apartheid.
This time around I shall not go into details or mention the name of the big shop, but surely sooner rather than later we shall be compelled to take steps against this big shop and expose it for what it is and liberate our people from this unacceptable, racist behaviour. First and foremost let me make it categorically clear that we did not fight against South African apartheid oppression of our people and now just at this point in time to tolerate and allow some racist diehards to treat our people disrespectfully in our own country. Our constitution which was brought into being by the struggle of the black people of this country in which some of us took part clearly stipulates, among other rights, that no persons will be discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin etc. If white business owners or workers in this Gobabis big shop treat black people without respect they are precipitating a situation or reaction which will not be conducive to the vital democratic and peaceful life in this country and which will not be in the interests and safety of all the people of this country. The same way the black people of this country overthrew the oppressive apartheid rule in this country is the same way they will say enough is enough and make sure that racial discrimination by some racist diehards in this country will effectively be destroyed and eliminated so that all races can live together in peace, harmony and respect. We surely cannot allow some white racist to use the democratic laws of this country to perpetuate racism and humiliate us for too long.
It should be remembered the laws of this country were made and intended to liberate people from the evils of colonialism and to protect their human rights, but not to be abused or to be tools at the disposal of racist diehards by which they can be able to bring racism back into the country and also be protected by the same laws. Being law-abiding citizens we shall first and foremost resort to the legal remedies, which are at our disposal. One such remedy is to approach the Ombudsman who under Article 91(d) of the Constitution has the “duty and power to investigate complaints concerning practices and actions of persons, enterprises and other private institutions where such complaints allege that violation of fundamental rights and freedoms under this constitution have taken place.” Some of these fundamental rights are those enshrined in Article 23 which stipulates that “the practice of racial discrimination and the practice and ideology of apartheid from which the majority of the people of Namibia have suffered for so long shall be prohibited and such practices and the propagation of such practices may be rendered criminally punishable.”
It is obvious from the reaction which I got from the black people who came to buy in that notorious big shop and what I had experienced myself on that fateful day that the Ombudsman will have sufficient proof and evidence that the said shop practices racial discrimination. Another option is for the black people, the victims of the racial discrimination at this shop, to request the government to appoint a commission of inquiry which will be instructed to investigate the complaints levelled against this shop and make a case which will form the bases for closing down that shop. No business or institution, which practices racism, should be tolerated and be allowed to function and operate in this free country. Surely we cannot have a shop or any business in this country, which is mistreating our people, and we just close our eyes and have the evils of racial discrimination to go on unabated and flourish. We have the patriotic and judicious responsibility to protect the people of this country from any unbecoming, imperious and impermissible behavior of those elements who are violating the rights of our people and the laws of the land. Finally, the black people do not have any bad blood or do not harbour ill feelings against the white compatriots who do not have colonial hangovers. However, the racists must not take the black people’s goodwill for granted and misunderstand it or even worse regard them as lower class human beings whom they can treat as sub-human beings who are not worthy of being equals with whites. It is time that the racists must accept the reality that blacks are here to stay and all of us black, white and coloreds must recognize unreservedly the fact that we have to live together in peace and harmony in this country of ours. No race has the right to discriminate against other races, tribes, ethnic groups etc. The owners of this notorious shop in Gobabis must strongly be advised to take tangible correctional measures and change the situation and the administration of the shop.