Namibian Sun

Ghana into quarters, while Uganda exitGyan sets Afcon scoring record Uganda coach Milutin Sredojevic described the way in which his side were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations with a last-gasp defeat to Egypt on Saturday as a crushing blow.

Asamoah Gyan headed Ghana into the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday while Uganda were condemned to an early exit after an agonising defeat to Egypt in Port-Gentil.

Gyan scored the only goal of the first match of the day in a Group D double-header in the Gabonese port city, securing a 1-0 win for the Black Stars against Mali.

On an awful pitch, seven-time African champions Egypt had substitute Abdallah El Said to thank for the 89th-minute effort that gave them a 1-0 win over Uganda, who become the first team to be eliminated.

Four-time winners Ghana, the runners-up in 2015, are one of only two teams to have clinched qualification for the quarter-finals with a match to spare, the others being Senegal.

“In tournaments you need to be winning games and that is what we did today,” said Gyan, who has now scored at six consecutive Cup of Nations tournaments.

“We are satisfied about our performance. Whether we play an excellent game or not, at the end of the day we just want to win and move forward.”

After back-to-back 1-0 wins, Avram Grant's side will secure top spot by avoiding defeat when they play Egypt in their last group match on Wednesday.

The teams had been prevented from warming-up on the pitch in order to prevent the damaged surface from further deteriorating, and when the game began it was Ghana who adapted quickest to the conditions.

Andre Ayew should have put the ball in the net rather than poke wide from a Christian Atsu assist, before the goal arrived in the 21st minute.

Gyan headed in a Jordan Ayew cross for his eighth goal at the Cup of Nations - his first came on home soil in 2008 - and Ghana then soaked up Malian pressure after the break.

Mali, who were eliminated from the group stage after a drawing of lots in 2015, must now beat Uganda in their last match and hope Egypt lose if they are to stay in the competition.

“The players are disappointed but not completely knocked down. They will be ready to lift their heads for the last match,” said the Mali coach Alain Giresse.

Egypt need only a point to be sure of their progress after taking their chance when it came with a minute left against the Ugandans.

Hector Cuper's side had drawn 0-0 with Mali in their first match and were heading for another goalless stalemate until Mohamed Salah set up substitute El Said to lash home.

Back at the tournament for the first time since winning a third consecutive trophy in 2010, the Pharaohs have not impressed so far in Gabon but are now within touching distance of the last eight.

“It was difficult on that pitch and in this climate but we won and that is the important thing,” admitted Cuper.

It was a crushing blow for the Ugandans, who lost 1-0 to Ghana through a penalty in their first match and looked certain to take a point against Egypt before the late goal.

Bottom of the group without a point, their first appearance at the Cup of Nations since 1978 will stop at the group stage, regardless of what they do against Mali in Oyem on Wednesday.

“We have come after 39 years and paid for the lesson in a hard way. If you lose in a convincing way you accept it, but in this way it is very hard to accept,” said Uganda coach Milutin

Sredojevic.

NAMPA/AFP

Jammeh leaves power after 22 years

Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh flew out Saturday from the country he ruled for 22 years to cede power to President Adama Barrow and end a political crisis.

Jammeh refused to step down after a December 1 election in which Barrow was declared the winner, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a military intervention involving five other west African nations.

The longtime leader, wearing his habitual white flowing robes, waved to supporters before boarding a small, unmarked plane at Banjul airport alongside Guinea's President Alpha Conde after two days of talks over a departure deal.

He landed in Conakry, Guinea's capital but set off again for Equatorial Guinea, where he will remain in exile, the president of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Marcel Alain de Souza, said at a Dakar press conference.

“No legislative measures” would be taken that would infringe the “dignity, security, safety and rights” of Jammeh or his family, ECOWAS said in a joint declaration with the African Union and United Nations.

Jammeh could return to The Gambia when he pleased, the statement added, and property “lawfully” belonging to him would not be seized.

Jammeh finally said he would step aside in the early hours of Saturday morning and hand power to Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal but is expected back in The Gambia imminently. “I call on President Barrow to come in immediately and take over the supreme responsibility of president, head of state, commander in chief and first citizen of our republic,” Jammeh said, according to remarks read out on state television before he left the country.

It would be improper not to “sincerely wish him and his administration all the best,” he added.

Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup from the country's only other president since independence from Britain, Dawda Jawara, making this The Gambia's first democratic transition of power.

NAMPA/AFP

Massive anti-Trump marchesWomen's marches draw millions The international outpouring served to underscore the degree to which Trump has unsettled people in both hemispheres.

More than two million people flooded US cities on Saturday as women opposed to Donald Trump led a peaceful, stunning rebuke against the new US president that was echoed in sister protests around the world.

As a sea of demonstrators brought downtown Washington to a standstill, streaming past the White House in a joyous parade of pink “pussyhats,” Trump launched a withering attack on the media, accusing it of downplaying attendance at his swearing-in a day earlier.

Trump did not acknowledge the mass protests that marked his first full day in office.

But their scale illustrated the depth of resistance to the Republican hardliner, who many fear will roll back the rights of women, immigrants and minorities.

Although the US capital does not release crowd counts, organizers of the main protest, the Women's March on Washington, told AFP they estimated turnout at one million - quadrupling initial expectations - with some 600 sister protests held around the globe.

“I'm part of history, and one day will tell my children about this,” said 16-year-old Maria Iman, who travelled to Washington with fellow high school students from Illinois. “It feels amazing.”

A tide of women and men - teens, pensioners, parents with toddlers on their shoulders - swelled into the streets around the National Mall for hours before flowing towards the White House in a determined show of unity.

“Women won't back down,” “Women's rights are human rights” and “Thank you Trump - you turned me into an activist,” read some of the thousands of handmade signs held aloft in the capital.

Educator Tanya Gaxiola, 39, who flew in from Tucson, Arizona, expressed concern that Trump will seek to restrict abortion laws and otherwise clamp down on women's rights.

“He's a narcissist and seeks approval, and this is a big display of disapproval,” Gaxiola said. “Hopefully, it catches his attention.”

More than half a million people packed the streets of Los Angeles, according to police there, and similar numbers gathered in New York. Other marches took place in Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, St. Louis, Denver and elsewhere.

In Boston, where up to 175,000 people demonstrated, fiery Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took aim at Trump's campaign of “attacks” on women and minorities.

“We can whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back!” Warren said to a loud roar.

Saturday's rallying cry was heard far beyond America's shores, with protests held from Paris to Prague, Sydney to Johannesburg, and in some 20 cities across Canada.

One of the largest was in London, where tens of thousands of women, men and children marched chanting “Dump Trump.”

The human tide flooding Washington appeared to dwarf the throngs of Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again!” caps who had cheered his swearing-in.

The knitted “pink pussyhats” they wore were an allusion to Trump's videotaped boasts of being able to grab women's genitals with impunity. Trump's defeated rival Hillary Clinton tweeted her support to the protesters, while former secretary of state John Kerry was spotted in the crowd - a day after leaving office - with his dog on a pink leash.

NAMPA/AFP

Land issue must not be politicised There is a great debate focusing on land reform in the country at the moment.

Opposition politicians, community activists and ordinary Namibians have all been making the right noises as far as land reform is concerned.

Our own government has admitted that land reform is a failure and that the country was still facing major problems when it comes to ensuring that access to land is equitable and based on people's needs.

Since the firing of Bernadus Swartbooi as deputy minister of land reform last year, the people of the South have been holding regular protests against the government, particularly on the issue of land.

They have, among others, argued that minorities were not benefiting from the process of land resettlement. As a result they have been petitioning the Minister of Land Reform Utoni Nujoma to delay the tabling of the contentious Land Bill, which was withdrawn from the National Assembly last year, until such time that the second land conference is held.

Nujoma is expected to table the Land Bill in the coming weeks, much to the chagrin of land activists and opposition parties.

Rightly so, the opposition and land activists are fed up with government for not demonstrating a sense of urgency when it comes to addressing the land question.

The second land conference was initially billed for November last year and it has now been moved to September this year.

It really does not make sense and it is fair to understand the frustration that these communities are going through.

It really doesn't make sense for government to table the Land Bill, months before the holding of a land indaba.

The issue of land must not be politicised.

Government should stop hiding behind the excuse that land is a “sensitive” matter, while not offering tangible solutions.

Shot of the day

IN WITH THE NEW: US President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive to attend an inauguration concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Friday. Photo: NAMPA/AFP

Namibia might apply to sell ivoryStockpile nearly 63 tons The government might ask approval from Cites to auction 62.9 tons of elephant tusks on the international market.

Namibia has a stockpile of about 62.9 tons of legal and illegal ivory with a collective value of N$341.2 million that could possibly be up for trade.

In an interview with Nampa, minister of environment and tourism Pohamba Shifeta said this included 26.05 tons of legal ivory retrieved when animals died naturally, were put down for being problematic or in trophy hunting.

The remaining 36.85 tons of illegal ivory was confiscated in illegal operations.

Shifeta said if Namibia decided to trade ivory on the global market, approval from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) would be sought.

At a Cites convention in October 2016, Namibia and Zimbabwe each tabled a proposal to lift the ban, but a coalition of African states opposed it and tabled a proposal to have ivory trade banned permanently.

Imposed since 1989, the ban is enforced in a way that Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe can request permission for auctions due to their large elephant populations that received less protection than those from other African countries.

The ban was in mid-2007 temporarily lifted for the four African States and 107 tons of ivory was auctioned under strict Cites supervision. The ban was also temporarily lifted in 1997. Shifeta said since 2007, a lot of elephants have died and in 2017, Namibia may apply to have the ban lifted again and for an auction to be held, but only if the country has a buyer.

“We do not have a problem with proposing to close the ivory market like China. However, it is not enough if you want to cartel the legal trade while the illegal trading might happen,” Shifeta said when asked if China's proposal to ban the domestic ivory trade by the end of this year would have an impact on Namibia.

He said if Namibia decided to sell the ivory stockpile, the only international markets are in China, Japan and Vietnam.

“Our law does not allow us to burn the natural resources (legal or illegal) but to make the request to have the product sold legally on the legal international market,” Shifeta said.

Government can apply in the High Court to declare the products State property. The Cites Convention where 171 member states meet is held every two years.

-Nampa

ETUNA SHIKALEPO

SPWC elects members for NEC

The Swapo Party Women's Council (SPWC) recently elected the 13 members who will serve on its National Executive Committee (NEC).

The council's secretary, Eunice Iipinge, announced the names at a media briefing last week.

The 13 members elected to serve are Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Loide Kasingo, Rosalia Nghidinwa, Kornelia Shilunga, Adelheid Damases, Katrina Liswani, Agnes Pelekelo, Petrina Haingura, Emilia Amupewa, Tonata Shipena, Victoria Kauma and Rebbeka Iitembu.

Iipinge and her deputy, Francina Kahungu are automatically members of the NEC by virtue of their positions.

The NEC on Saturday also elected members of the Council Secretariat, namely Nghidinwa as assistant secretary of finance and project management; Shilunga, assistant secretary for research, information and programmes; Liswani, assistant secretary for foreign affairs; Iitembu, assistant secretary for legal affairs; and Shipena as assistant secretary for organisation and mobilisation.

Iipinge called on the elected members to remain united, as unity was needed for the SPWC to go forward.

“The test of leadership is about results that speaks to the betterment of people's lives,” she said.

The role of the NEC is to manage the day-to-day administration and management of the SPWC, which is also responsible for policy formulation between the Central Committee meetings.

It elects the secretariat of the party's women's council from among its members.

NAMPA

Ministry to build more hospitals

The minister of health and social services, Bernard Haufiku, says his ministry will focus on building health facilities this year.

Addressing journalists on Friday, Haufiku announced that they would start construction of the Aussenkehr health facility this year. A tuberculosis hospital in Keetmanshoop is also expected to be completed this year.

“The new clinic at Mariental is projected to be finished this year,” Haufiku said.

The construction of the Kongola health centre in the Zambezi Region is also on the cards.

The minister hopes that five more hospitals will be used to train interns this year, bringing the number of hospitals taking in interns to eight.

Haufiku said the continuous concern of foreign doctors setting up private practices in Namibia would be a thing of the past.

“Anyone who qualifies from anywhere and wants to come and practise medicine in Namibia will have to do public service for five years,” Haufiku said.

“This applies to Namibian students too, who will have to practice for five years in the public sector, inclusive of their internships and community health service.

“This is in the best interest of the health sector,” said Haufiku.

Haufiku also shed light on a proposed memorandum of understanding between the ministry of health and private doctors to enable specialists to treat patients in state hospitals.

This will help reduce the number of patients who have to travel to Windhoek to receive medical attention.

Another added benefit of this agreement is that these doctors will also help train doctors in the regions.

The ministry's aim is to strengthen regional capacity.

“We want district hospitals and regional hospitals to function properly to a point that only about 15% to 20% of patients should be transferred to Windhoek. “This will be complemented with the ongoing outreach campaign which the Ministry of Health and Social Services initiated in 2015,” the minister said.

MICHAEL KAYUNDE

Opposition parties slam Land BillUPM, Nudo want bill put on ice The United People's Movement (UPM) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) say the Land Bill should be put on hold pending the outcome of the scheduled second land conference later this year.

The United People's Movement (UPM) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) have expressed dissatisfaction with the government's resettlement programme ahead of the second land conference slated for later this year.

Releasing a statement, party president Jan van Wyk said: “The UPM has noted with huge concern the failure of government to address the problems with regard to the resettlement programme.

“On 17 June 2016 the UPM used the parliamentary platform to get answers from the land reform minister. The minister was also asked to define the word 'resettlement' as the currently criteria selectively discriminate against indigenous minorities.”

Nudo secretary-general Meundju Jahanika said: “The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) has learned with shock that the Ministry of Land Reform has extended the deadline for submissions on the Land Bill until 16 February 2017 while we have requested the minister to withdraw the Land Bill until after the second land conference and fortunately President Hage Geingob announced that the Second Land Conference will take place in September 2017, therefore, there is no need to reintroduce the bill before the conference and to ask for submissions.

“Nudo is of the opinion that the deliberations in the second national land conference should form the basis of articles that need to be included in the bill based of the recommendations made at the land conference.

Although the proposed bill made provision for foreign nationals not to own land in Namibia, which is a good move in principle, it is very much premature to have the bill passed through the parliament before the second land conference.”

It is alleged that Van Wyk was denied the right to speak on the Land Bill.

“The UPM is of the opinion that the resettlement programme in its current form has become an instrument to expropriate ancestral land.

“Van Wyk in his contribution referred to the plight of the Nama people.

Today the Nama people have become the victims of the current regime because they want land, the land that was taken from them.

The current government has expropriated the land of the Rehoboth Baster Gemeente and other properties by a deliberate wrong interpretation of Schedule 5 of the Namibian Constitution.”

He accused Swapo of enriching certain citizens, saying: “Namibia has become a country that provides for the rich and the well connected, as many of the well linked were resettled at the expense of the poor indigenous landless.”

Backing the former deputy lands minister, Van Wyk said: “The UPM fully agreed with the statements of [Bernadus] Swartbooi, as he has spoken the truth, something the Swapo led government is afraid of. The UPM had manifested that it will fight for the rights of the minorities of which land, including affordable urban land, will be toping its agenda.

“We want to know why the minister and Swapo-led government see it fit to introduce the bill and eventually the Land Act before the second land conference.

We, therefore, call upon all opposition parties in the National Assembly to boycott the debate on the proposed Land Bill if it reintroduced by the minister before the second land conference in September 2017,” Van Wyk said.Said Jahanika: “It is almost 24 years back now since we had the first National Land Conference and the experience of these years shows that Namas and Hereros whose forefathers and mothers killed for their land have not benefited as far as land reform is concerned, but only those from Ovamboland whose forefathers and mothers were never killed because of land.”

Van Wyk accused the government of side-lining minorities.

“The Namibian government's definition on the word 'resettlement' effectively contributes to the strategy to outlive indigenous minorities from the lands of their forefathers, in an effort to let the current and new generation to disappear in to the masses and to rob them from their identity.

“The Swapo-led government has shown those members of minority groups who are in the ranks of Swapo need to keep their mouths shut as they are not allowed to speak against the wishes of the ethnic majority. The so-called 'Nobody should be left out' has proven to be just another empty dream.”

STAFF REPORTER

Refugees seek audience with UN

The group Namibia Refugees Repatriated is seeking an audience the United Nations, according to its spokesperson, Ueshitile Shekupe.

“We are seeking a round-table dialogue. The United Nations must report, we want an explanation. We want to approach them as soon as possible. A resolution was taken and the time has come to sit with the United Nations,” Shekupe said.

He stressed that the refugees had no gripes with the Namibian government or any political party but with the United Nations primarily.

“We need to be respected by the country, we need to be appreciated. We are not after government; we are after the United Nations. At this moment we have nothing to say to government.”

Shekupe could not indicate when they planned to approach the government as they had only met for the first time in order to plan.

In November 2016, Shekupe said they were dissatisfied with the manner in which the repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement process was done during and after the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 435. Shekupe said they were left to fend for themselves, with no access to humanitarian assistance, and are challenged by socio-economic and socio-political problems.

“The problems which we continue to face some 26 years after Namibian independence are inextricably linked to the unsatisfactory way in which the repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement process was implemented.”

Shekupe said the latest petition handed to UN resident coordinator Anita Kiki Gbeho is for the UN to provide the group with comprehensive information, including UN certified and detailed reports of budgetary commitments and monitoring and evaluation on how the implementation of the RRR process was done in Namibia in 1989.

The refugees complained that when they came back, many of them were near the retirement age of 60 and could not secure formal employment or education. The majority now rely on monthly state pensions.

Those who arrived while they were still young and able to work are now employed in low-paying jobs with not enough money.

They say the social and economic support by the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs does not address their plight.

STAFF REPORTER

Newborn baby left under tree in plastic bag

The police are investigating a case of child abandonment and neglect at Arandis, the rape of a child at Karibib and a murder case at Mondesa, Swakopmund.

A member of the public found a newborn baby girl abandoned and crying in a plastic carry bag under a tree in the residential area of Arandis yesterday morning and called the police.

“It appears the baby was dumped early in the morning, probably by her mother we suspect,” said Chief Inspector Erastus Ikuyu.

The baby was taken to Arandis clinic for a check-up and she is healthy.

A suspect who is a 21-year-old female has been arrested and taken to the Arandis clinic.

She is expected to appear in court as soon as she is discharged from hospital.

The investigation continues.

“We arrested Kosmos Elago Metusalem, 22, in connection with a rape recorded in Karibib. The suspect will appear in the magistrate's court today,” confirmed Ikuyu.

The incident took place after the 15-year-old victim went to the suspect's residence in Usab location on 19 January at 20:00 to retrieve her bag, which he apparently had taken from her the previous day.

Upon her arrival, he allegedly dragged her into his friend's shack and raped her. She was only released at 05:40 the next day. She reported the matter to her mother.

Kamwengo Kambuse, 24, was arrested in connection with a murder reported in Swakopmund on Friday. Bianka Sharlene Waundja, 28, died after she was allegedly battered and stabbed by Kambuse during a fight. The incident took place at approximately 22:00 in Erastus Shatona Street in the DRC settlement.

“We are not sure what caused the fight. The suspect will appear before the Swakopmund Magistrate's Court today. The next of kin of the deceased person were informed and the investigation continues,” said Chief Inspector Ikuyu.

OTIS FINCK

Caterpillars wreak havocCrops decimated in the north and northeast The agriculture ministry has sent entomologists to the north-central and north-eastern crop-growing regions, where an outbreak of caterpillars is threatening food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has confirmed an outbreak of caterpillars causing havoc to fields in north-central and north-eastern Namibia.

The ministry's statement did not identify the type of caterpillars but denied newspaper reports that they were American bollworms or army worms. The ministry said a team of entomologists would be deployed to the affected areas to assess the situation and identify the caterpillars.

“The ministry is deploying a team of entomologists to the affected areas to carry out detailed inspections aimed at assessing the damage and identifying actual types of caterpillars causing this tragic havoc. Such pest species are well known to pose a serious threat to food security since they cause mass destruction to cereal crops in a short period of time,” the statement read. “The outbreak has been verified by the ministry's regional staff in the affected regions. These caterpillars are highly polyphagous pest species. Whenever they infest crop fields, they initially feed on the fresh and soft leaves of young plants after which they, within a few days, migrate upwards onto older plants where they devour the soft tissues on the leaf edges except the veins and midrib, and cobs.”

During a visit to the Etunda Green Scheme irrigation project and a number of small-scale farms in the Omusati Region, it was evident that the caterpillars were causing havoc. Farmers said it was the first time that caterpillars destroyed so much of their fields.

One could see how the caterpillars first eat the leaves of crops such as maize before destroying the plants from the inside.

The farmers, who referred to the caterpillars as army worms, said they had tried to spray pesticides to rescue their crops but the caterpillars kept going. “They are not new to us but the manner in which they came this year, they are just too many, uncontrollable and they are just destroying everything,” one farmer said.

At Etunda some farmers have decided to plough their crops under because the whole harvest is lost.

The small-scale commercial farmers at Etunda said they could only rely on their butternut and cabbage crops this season, as the caterpillars did not seem to have that much effect on these plants. Some of them said the caterpillars also feasted on their tomato plants but not much damage had been done so far. The ministry encouraged farmers to use contact pesticides as well as physical control methods such as digging deep trenches around their fields. Farmers with relatively small fields can pick off the caterpillars by hand.

“The ministry through the Plant Health Division and the regional extension offices is [distributing] pesticides, spraying machines and equipment to control the spread of the caterpillars in the affected areas. In addition, the ministry is [instructing] extension staff to assist with spraying of affected fields,” the statement read.

KENYA KAMBOWE

Hospital's 'shocking' cat removal tender

A tender invited by the Ministry of Health and Social Services for the removal of cats at the Rundu Intermediate Hospital has been described as shocking by local experts.

Although the tender is about getting rid of cats the documents does not indicate how many cats there are, which is why applicants must quote a price per cat removed.

The tender is dated 12 January and submissions should be made by Saturday.

According to a source within the hospital's structures, the number of cats at the hospital has become worrisome and therefore prompted the ministry to issue the first tender of its kind to remove cats from a public hospital.

“The cats are a lot and that's why the letter clearly states unknown number as today you see a black cat and tomorrow a brown one,” the source said.

Commentators say the reason why cats are attracted to places like hospitals is because the hospitals are filthy and attract mice and rats.

The ministry's spokesperson, Ester Paulus, did not respond to questions sent to her.

The founder of the animal welfare project Have-a-Heart, Lindie Prinsloo, described the tender as shocking. She said the ministry could just have contacted the right people, who would have humanely removed the cats for free.

Prinsloo said there are not many organisations in Namibia that have the know-how of handling domestic animals.

“I saw on the tender there is even something about a Social Security Certificate. This is not a tender for a building. They should have just approached the right people,” she said.

The tender does not specify how the cats should be handled. It only says the contractors should make arrangements with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for their disposal.

There is no SPCA branch at Rundu; the nearest one is at Grootfontein.

The Windhoek SPCA's branch manager, Sylvia Breitenstein, said there had been no communication between them and the ministry regarding the issue.

Breitenstein said she had never heard of such a tender, pointing out that the SPCA had assisted the ministry with a similar project at the Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek.

“They used to call us for the Katutura State Hospital and we go and assist them,” she said.

Breitenstein said the best way to control feral cat colonies is to trap, neuter and release them. Such colonies play an important role in controlling pest such as rats.

She emphasised that if the ministry went ahead with the Rundu tender the cats must be handled in a humane way.

KENYA KAMBOWE

Accidents claim 3 young livesThree murders over the weekend Two babies drowned in the Kavango East Region after a hippo capsized a canoe.

JANA-MARI SMITH

An 11-year-old boy died of a gunshot while playing with friends over the weekend and two babies drowned in the Kavango East Region after a hippo capsized the canoe they were in.

Moreover, a 15-year-old girl from Karibib told police on Friday that she had been locked into a shack and raped by a man she had accused of stealing her bag on Thursday night.

She alleged that she had approached the suspect on Thursday evening, after which he “dragged her into his friend’s shack and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her.” The 22-year-old suspect released the girl on Friday and will make his first court appearance at Karibib magistrate’s court today.

According to police, two boys aged 12 and their 11-year-old friend, Mathew Tiboth, were playing with a licensed 9mm Makarov pistol on Saturday morning in Keetmanshoop, when a shot was fired, fatally wounding the youngest boy.

NamPol Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi said at a press briefing that the other boys were still being treated for shock and had not yet provided a full statement of the events that led to the death of Tiboth.

On Friday, near Ndiyona in the Kavango East Region, it is alleged that two Angolan women and their infants, were crossing the Okavango River when a hippo attacked their canoe.

The canoe capsized, plunging all four occupants into the river. While the mothers were able to safely reach the shores of the river, the two babies drowned. The body of the eight-month-old has been recovered while police are still searching for the body of the four-month-old baby.

The police reported that three murders were recorded over the weekend, plus the death of a pedestrian after he was hit by a Polo Vivo. Police are still searching for the driver of the vehicle, which hit the 26-year-old deceased Johnny Haukandjo on the main road between Windhoek and Okahandja on Saturday.

According to police, 28-year-old Bianka Sharlene Waundja was assaulted with a stone and stabbed with a knife on Friday at Mondesa, Swakopmund, by her 24-year-old boyfriend.

In Otjiwarongo, a fight at the Hollywood bar at DRC informal settlement led to the death of 28-year-old Jackson Michael after he was stabled with a knife.

A 27-year-old suspect was later apprehended by police, after he at first fled the scene

In another stabbing incident, 29-year-old Howard Walter Coetzee died in Rehoboth on Saturday night after he was allegedly stabbed by his 34-year-old brother in law, for unknown reasons.

Two suicides were recorded over the weekend, both by hanging. Kanyetu Thimbara (22) was found hanging from a tree, after he had tied a piece of linen to a tree, police said on Sunday.

A 60-year-old woman from Ondjumba village in the Oshikoto Region, Julia Matheus, was discovered hanging from the roof of her room by her granddaughter on Sunday.

Police on Sunday said that a 24-year-old man, Joseph Reinhold, died early on Sunday morning, after he accidentally cut himself on a piece of corrugated iron and bled to death. Police say the deceased had returned home at 01:00 in the morning, and was intoxicated when the accident took place.

The case of a missing person was solved over the weekend, when human remains and clothes were found in the bush at Kangongo village in the Kavango East Region. According to police, the clothing found at the scene was positively identified by family members of Samake Maria Runguro (98), who had gone missing in December.

Skorpion lays off 278 workers

STAFF REPORTER

The Skorpion Zinc mine will retrench 278 employees as part of its restructuring process.

Its general manager, Irvin Simataa made the announcement.

This is the second such exercise by a mine following similar activities at Paladin’s Langer Heinrich uranium mine in the Erongo Region.

Simataa released a statement explaining why the mine was retrenching.

“To ensure business continuity and prevent mine closure by June 2017, the company’s best alternative is to restructure and implement initiatives intended at extending the life of the mine.

“The best economic and most sensible alternative considered is the outsourcing of our mining operation to a third party with an adequate and appropriate heavy mining equipment and capability to mine large quantities of waste economically within the timeframe to prevent refinery and mine closure. This has become unavoidable. A total of 278 employees within the mining department will be affected,” said Simataa.

According to him, negotiations with the affected employees’ trade union and the affected 278 started last week already. At present, Skorpion provides employment to approximately 1 500 people, 800 directly, and to a further 700 contractors while 96% of its entire workforce is Namibian.

Vedanta’s total production was 17% lower quarter-on-quarter mainly owing to technical issues at Skorpion. The mine produced 17 000 tons, 34% higher than in the December 2015 quarter, but 25% lower than the September 2016 quarter, as increased upstream material handling challenges to treat wetter-than-anticipated ore through the refinery arose.

Currently, Skorpion produces 1.5 metric tons per annum of oxide ore, has a nameplate capacity of 150 000 tons per annum of refined zinc. While the remaining reserve and resource of 5 million tons is expected to be exhausted by 2020.

Skorpion was opened in 2003 and was owned by Anglo American at the time. Vedenta took control of the mine in 2010. Skorpion is currently the eighth largest zinc mine in the world.

Four more rhino horns seizedTwo Chinese, two Namibians arrested The police seized a ‘poacher’s toolkit’ and arrested two Chinese men during a raid on a flat in Eros, Windhoek, on Thursday night. JANA-MARI SMITH

Undercover police operations last week led to the arrest of two Namibians near Outapi and two Chinese nationals in Windhoek for illegal possession of two rhino horns in each case.

A joint operation lasting most of last week between Namibian intelligence units, the Namibian Police Protected Resource Unit (PRU) and City Police led to the raid on Thursday night of the Eros flat rented by the two Chinese, during which two rhino horns wrapped in aluminium foil as well as a cache of weapons and ammunition were confiscated and the two men arrested.

A source close to the investigation confirmed that the items found alongside the rhino horns could be described as a rhino poaching kit, including hunting rifles, bullets and other items not yet made public by the police.

Investigations and tests continue, and police over the weekend said it was not yet clear where the rhino horns found at the flat in Eros originated from or how old they were.

Police over the weekend dismissed a report that they were linked to a case of poaching of white rhinos in the Gobabis area in December, saying further tests were needed before their origin could be determined.

The two Chinese men, whose names cannot be published until their first court appearance before the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court today, had reportedly entered the country from Zambia at some point in the past month.

The Chinese men had allegedly been seen at a popular gambling establishment in Windhoek during the week, flashing large amounts of cash, sources told Namibian Sun. Official confirmation could not be obtained from the police.

At Outapi, Linda Johannes (32-years-old) and Victor Sihani (52) remain behind bars following their first appearance before the Outapi Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after their arrest earlier that week at a cattle post in the region.

The two were caught during a sting operation, after they attempted to sell a pair of rhino horns, police said on Friday.

Johannes and Sihani claimed they had found the horns in the belongings of Johannes’s deceased father, which he had hidden with other personal items at a cattle post in the area.

Their case was postponed until March 7.

Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the horns appear quite old, though further details were not yet available.

On Friday the head of Namibia’s police force, Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga, said the recent arrests were a clear sign that Namibia’s call on foreign and local criminals to cease poaching was falling on deaf ears.

“They do not respect our appeal to stop being involved in poaching,” he said.

Ndeitunga said it was frustrating and “totally unacceptable” that many Namibians were willing pawns for international crime syndicates and were helping to destroy the country’s protected resources.

Ndeitunga also reached out to the judiciary, appealing to officers of the court to assist in addressing the rhino poaching epidemic by handing down “proper sentences” when guilty verdicts are handed down.

Addressing widespread concerns that poachers have been granted bail on numerous occasions despite the risk of returning to illegal activities and intimidation of witnesses, among other concerns, he said it was crucial that court officials familiarise themselves with “what is going on in the country and with the seriousness of poaching in Namibia”.

He emphasised that law enforcement would not interfere with the decisions of court officials, but noted that the risk of interference with ongoing investigations into poaching was high when suspects linked to poaching activities were released on bail.

Ndeitunga thanked and praised the women and men in uniform who are “hard at work” investigating the complex poaching network in the country.

He said the law enforcement teams would “leave no stone unturned” and there would be “no mercy” for anyone guilty of poaching.

Kashihakumwa to head anti-poaching unit

ILENI NANDJATO

The former Oshana Region police commander, Commissioner Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa, looks set to head the new anti-poaching unit under the ministry of environment, Namibian Sun has learnt.

Cabinet approved the establishment of the anti-poaching unit last year as the country grapples with a wildlife poaching crisis.

Environment spokesperson Romeo Muyunda confirmed that the Office of the Prime Minister had approved the division’s structure and that its head had been recruited.

He declined to disclose the name of the head of the division.

“It is true that we have established the anti-poaching division and already approved by the Office of the Prime Minister. We have already recruited the head of the unit who will be the director,” he said.

According to Muyunda, the anti-poaching unit will assist Nampol in combating poaching.

It is expected that the new unit will control anti-poaching efforts in all national parks.

“Currently the Namibian police are only assisting the ministry when it was realised that the poaching cases had increased across our national parks. Our anti-poaching division is going to work hand in hand with the Namibian police as a law-enforcing agency.”

Approached for comment, Kashihakumwa said nobody had called him yet regarding the anti-poaching unit position, but he was ready to serve his country.

“Being on retirement does not mean that somebody has divorced from national programmes. If government approaches me, I will take it up and continues where I ended,” Kashihakumwa said.

In June 2015, Kashihakumwa, while still heading Oshana police, was appointed to be the first ‘gold commander’ of the Etosha anti-poaching operation.

“During my three-month stay in Etosha, I had a team of intelligence police officials. We identified a number of poaching syndicates that led to the arrests of several suspects,” he said.

In the same year Kashihakumwa went on early retirement after an illustrious police career.

Kashihakumwa received intelligence and VIP protection military training in Cuba after going to exile in 1975.

Upon return to Angola in 1980, he became a senior intelligence officer, tasked with the protection of former president Sam Nujoma.

After independence, Kashihakumwa was assigned to Nampol as head of counter-intelligence at State House,

He was then transferred to the Namibia Defence Force in 1992 and later appointed investigator at the ministry of works.

In 1996, he was transferred back to Nampol as chief inspector and VIP commanding officer.

In 2000 he was promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner in 2005 appointed as Omusati regional commander. Two years later he was transferred to Oshana until his retirement in 2015.

During his tenure as Oshana police chief, Kashihakumwa was credited with significantly reducing crime in the region once known as a hotbed of criminal activity.

Busy 2017 for Namibian chess

MAQONDA NDLOVU, NAMPA

The game of chess has seen tremendous growth in Namibia in the last four years with more to come in future, says Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) president Otto Nakapunda.

Nakapunda says this is thanks to proper planning and the establishment of a league in 2013, which has led to the formation of clubs and academies.

“We started off with 10 teams in the league in 2013, now we have the premier league and the first division with 10 teams each.”

Nakapunda says the creation of the league has led to Namibia winning medals at regional and international events.

In 2015, Namibia brought back two medals, one gold and one silver, from the African Schools Individuals Championships in South Africa. Last year at the same championships in Zambia, Namibia won one gold and two silvers.

“We are no longer just participating, we are now competing,” he says, adding that they are doing all this despite financial challenges.

Nakapunda says like all sports codes in Namibia, they find it difficult to attract sponsors.

Things are looking up this year, however, as a number of companies have made financial commitments to run tournaments and projects.

A number of tournaments will take place. These include the African Schools Individuals Championships in Windhoek from 23 to 31 August.

Seminars will be held concurrently with national tournaments to teach more people chess.

Some tournaments will have new formats and will be used to select players to represent the country at various regional and international tournaments.

For the first time in Namibia, the NCF will also host a women’s chess challenge.

“We already have a sponsor and the tournament will take place in the second half of the year,” Nakapunda says.

A junior league is also in the offing this year.

The NCF further wants to introduce chess in prisons and hospitals, as well as Braille chess for the blind, and veterans’ chess.

“Chess can help rehabilitate people in correctional facilities and our veterans can pass the time playing chess. They will help pass the knowledge on to the younger ones,” he says.

The federation will introduce chess at more towns.

Nakapunda says they also want to develop chess terminology in local languages.

Money-laundering suspects get N$1.5m bail

Three suspects implicated in the massive fraud and money-laundering case involving N$3.5 billion were today granted bail of N$1.5 million each in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
Chinese nationals Huizhong Tao and Huan Jinrong as well as Namibian businessman Laurentius Julius were granted bail by
magistrate Sebby Alweendo Venatius. Both Huizhong and Huan are represented by prominent lawyer Sisa Namandje, while Louis Botes is representing Julius.

STAFF REPORTER

Kaperu investigation doneBoxing board to announce decision soon The boxing control board will decide the fate of its suspended chief administrator at its first meeting of the year.

Namibia Wrestling and Boxing Control Board vice-chairperson Philip Mwandingi yesterday disclosed that suspended chief administrator Joe Kaperu's investigation report is ready.

The boxing board suspended the chief administrator late last year for alleged insubordination.

The board appointed an independent investigator to compile a report on the findings.

“What I can confirm at the moment is that the investigation has been concluded and the board is expected to make a decision at our first meeting of the year at a date still to be decided.“It will be unprofessional and premature to disclose the findings of the investigation to the media at the moment given that the board still has to take a decision after we go through the report.

“At the moment Kaperu remains suspended, but he is still earning his full salary,” Mwandingi said.

Mwandingi added that most of the people at the board have been on leave and that is why Kaperu's investigation report has been delayed

“We remain confident that the matter should be resolved as soon as possible in order for the boxing board to start the year in a good way.

“There are certain plans we have to discuss about and that is going to be at our first meeting of the year,” he said. Edgard Modise is the acting chief administrator until the matter between Kaperu and the boxing board is resolved.

When contacted for comment, Kaperu said he would rather not speak about the saga until the situation was resolved.

“I do not know anything at the moment and will not be able to talk about that. I do believe the right people to talk to are the board officials,” Kaperu said.

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA