THE Namibian Lives Matter Movement (NLMM) is urgently seeking the ombudsman’s intervention to have the Namibian man who was allegedly recruited by the Botswana police as an informant, arrested for spying.
Last year, in a two-week-long inquest into the killing of Tommy, Martin, and Wamunyima Nchindo, and their cousin Sinvula Munyeme by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), it was revealed that the Botswana Police recruited a Namibian man in 2018 to monitor and report any suspicious activities on the Chobe River.
On the night of 5 November 2020 when the men were shot, the said informant allegedly tipped off the Botswana authorities, who subsequently informed the BDF’s platoon commander of the men’s presence.
The commander then sent a patrol team to assess the situation.
An inquest was heard by Kasane regional magistrate Taboka Mopipi, and the verdict given on 20 January 2022 absolved the BDF of any wrongdoing.
However, NLMM national chairperson Sinvula Mudabeti wants to know why, after discovering a year ago that a Namibian was spying for the Botswana government, the Namibian government is not arresting the man.
During an interview with The Namibian this week, Mudabeti said his organisation seeks the intervention of the ombudsman, because the Namibian government’s unwillingness to maintain the territorial integrity of the country is concerning.
He said the Namibian government has failed to protect its citizens in the Zambezi region from harassment by the BDF.
“The Namibian Police are unwilling to charge the spy with high treason. This spy has turned against the government by working with a foreign government to assassinate innocent and unarmed Namibians,” Mudabeti said.
He also alleged that the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) had failed to advise the president and government properly, because they are failing to maintain the country’s national security “by allowing the spy to roam freely”.
Mudabeti said the ombudsman’s intervention will also draw attention to the failure of the Office of the Attorney General to pronounce the government’s legal position in the verdict by Botswana in the inquest into the deaths of the Nchindo brothers and their cousin.
“The other issue in which the government failed is to provide empirical evidence of consultations that took place between our government and communities living along the Chobe River on the purported 2018 Border Treaty.
“… as well as to ensure a well-coordinated operation of the code of conduct between the two countries to have equal access to shared resources and tourism activities peacefully as agreed,” he said.
The ombudsman, Basilius Dyakugha, when approached for comment on Tuesday, said he is on leave and was not informed about the letter by the NLMM.
However, he explained that procedurally all complaints are first handled by senior investigators, and when a matter needs his attention, it is brought to him.
Dyakugha strongly condemned the killing of Namibians by the BDF, saying neighbouring national defence forces should protect the property and lives of civilians – whether citizens or not.
“Secondly, borders should not be barriers of no-go areas, they should be a place where negotiations should take place with neighbours to attend to each other’s problems, because in today’s world, no one can afford to ignore the problems of their neighbours.
“This means what the BDF has done and is still doing is highly regrettable,” he said.
He said he could not further comment on the matter, because any issue or human rights violation that occurs outside the borders of Namibia falls outside his mandate.
As such, in terms of international law, such cases fall under the authority of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, which are handled according to diplomatic channels and international dialogue.
Efforts to get comment from Namibian Police chief inspector general Joseph Shikongo were unsuccessful.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi promised to look into the questions sent to her yesterday once she was at the office. However, she had not responded at the time of going to print.
The minister of international relations and cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was sent questions via WhatsApp and email yesterday. She responded by referring The Namibian to attorney general Festus Mbandeka.
Mbandeka said he was driving when contacted yesterday.
“Good day, unfortunately I’m driving now, and the traffic is very busy. I shall revert to you later in the afternoon once I get to the closest town. Thanking you,” he said on WhatsApp.
However, he did not respond at the time of going to print.