Swartbooi still at large

Swartbooi still at large It has been two weeks since lands deputy minister Bernadus Swartbooi publicly accused his senior, minister Utoni Nujoma, of tribal preference in the manner he oversees the resettlement programme.

President Hage Geingob ordered Swartbooi to apologise within 24 hours for the remarks that sparked a national debate, but Swartbooi is nowhere to be found.

The president''s call for an apology from Swartbooi seems to have divided the country. A number of traditional leaders have pledged their support for Swartbooi, urging him not to apologise. There also has been a massive outpouring of support for Swartbooi on social media and very few members of the public have criticised his statements.

According to media reports, Swartbooi has written Geingob a letter in which he requested the president to say which laws he had broken that warranted an apology to Nujoma.





Namibian Sun contacted presidential affairs minister Frans Kapofi, who referred the enquiry to presidential press secretary Albertus Aochamub, who in turn failed to respond to calls and text messages.



In the meantime the /Khomanin landless people have thrown their weight behind Swartbooi and accused President Geingob of only reprimanding ministers from minority groups.



In a statement signed by Verona Kharuchas, the group said they had noted that every issue and grievance raised by minorities was regarded as tribalism or a threat to peace and stability in the country.



The /Khomanin landless people argue that there is no need for Swartbooi to apologise because his remarks on the current resettlement drive “spearheaded by Nujoma is true”.



“After the 1991 land conference the Ongandjera clan were given back their ancestral land. If ancestral land was not entertained by then, how did this clan get their land back? What is the difference of the claim that the landless /Khomanin were making to that of the Ongandjera?” asked Kharuchas.

Meanwhile, a high level Swapo Politburo meeting was taking place last night at the party headquarters in the capital at the time of going to press. Namibian Sun was reliably informed that the issue of deputy minister Swartbooi was high on the agenda.