Police unleash force on unemployed youth

THE Namibian Police have been accused of unleashing brutality against unemployed youths that took to the streets yesterday to protest against joblessness.

Protests, which the police say were illegal, took place in the north at Ohangwena and elsewhere at Walvis Bay and Keetmanshoop, as well as in Windhoek, where activists Michael Amushelelo and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, together with Popular Democratic Movement member of parlaiment Inna Hengari, were arrested.

Lawyer Kadhila Amoomo yesterday said that the right to protest can be located in Article 21 (1) (d) of the Namibian Constitution.

“It finds meaning in the freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms. The Public Gathering Proclamation of 1989 continues to haunt our democratic space.

“This is to be expected because the proclamation was never designed to function in a constitutional dispensation.

“It was designed to combat anti-apartheid programmes and harass freedom fighters before independence.

“That is why the activists approached the High Court to fight for that right. That being said, my clients accepted the ruling of the High Court with respect,” Amoomo said.

He said this was the most responsible thing to do, because the court pronounced itself and someone had to inform the gathered unemployed youth.

“What transpired thereafter is a series of police brutality events. At first they were ordered to disperse and they complied with that order as that was their intention anyway, because of the court order.

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“It’s almost as if the police were disappointed or surprised that the activists complied with the order, because as soon as they left, the police pursued everyone, harassed them and arbitrarily arrested them,” the lawyer said.

“We will be appearing in the magistrate’s court on behalf of those who were arrested. We have also engaged other lawyers like Messe Tjituri to assist with this process.”

Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEEF) president Kalimbo Iipumbu yesterday said the protest action was a clarion call.

“This holy rage was organised into a meaningful protest action by the NEFF leadership and the able guidance of Amushelelo and Nauyoma. It is not a secret that these two have given over their lives and joined the front lines of picketing.

“They have become a target of high-handed police action at every corner,” he said.

Iipumbu said it’s shameful that this is the situation on the day the nation should be celebrating the country’s independence.

“These officers risk radicalising our already disenfranchised masses,” he said.

Iipumbu said it’s humiliating that the Swapo government chose to ‘bury its head in the sand’.

“May this arrest be a sad reminder that our independence is still not complete..,” he said.

Some protesters were allegedly pushed around by the Namibian Police’s Special Reserve Force on their way home after the police dispersed the crowd.

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said Nuyoma and Amushelelo were arrested for contravening the Public Gathering Act of 1989, malicious damage to property, inciting public violence, and the violation of a court order/contempt of court.

Shikwambi said following an urgent court application to reschedule the NEFF’s planned demonstration to another date, the High Court ruled in favour of the state, declaring that such a demonstration yesterday would be illegal and in contempt of court.

“It so happened that despite the court ruling, a demonstration was held in Windhoek where the police dispersed the crowd,” she said.
The police yesterday at the time of going to print did not respond to a question about which charges Hengari was arrested on.

The unemployment protests come as Albius Mwiya, the director of labour market services at the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation told Desert Radio last week that Namibia has been experiencing an employment crisis for a long time.

The latest labour force survey, which was released almost five years ago, showed that Namibia’s youth unemployment rate stood at 46,1%, of which men accounted for 43,7% and women for 48,5%.
More than 2 000 young people earlier this month submitted their CVs to an establishment at Khomasdal which advertised 16 vacant posts.

‘PARENTS MISLED’

Walvis Bay’s NEFF representative, Shidofino ya Festus, yesterday told protesters Namibia’s supposed freedom is “nothing but a scam” to the unemployed.

“Our parents were misled into fighting for freedom they never truly received. The promises of democracy and equal opportunities have not been fulfilled, and the high unemployment rate in the country is a stark reminder of this fact,” he said.

He said the “unemployment protest” will continue for the next six months.

“We are gathered here today refusing to be scammed any further,” he said, before presenting the branch’s plan to addressing the issue.

The group plans to submit CVs to the labour ministry before month-end, asking for employment opportunities for Namibians and proposing measures to prevent foreigners from taking up positions which can be occupied by Namibians.

On 21 April, the group plans to hand over a petition to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, demanding the reopening of all fishing factories that were closed due to a lack of fishing quotas in the wet fish industry, and an increase in the total allowable catches to 80% to create jobs.

On 22 May, the group will present a petition to the Ministry of Works and Transport, demanding that the ministry should employ unemployed graduates to repair government vehicles and renovate the government’s dilapidated buildings and other properties.

On 21 June, the group will hand over a petition to the Minstry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to provide two farms per region accommodating unemployed graduates from the University of Namibia’s Neudamm and Ogongo campuses.

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COURT DECISION REJECTED

Meanwhile, community members at Keetmanshoop in the //Kharas region have rejected the decision of the High Court and police chief inspector general Joseph Shikongo that no protest should be held on Independence Day.

Unemployed young people, accompanied by their parents, yesterday marched from Tseiblaagte to the offices of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation to hand over their CVs in protest against unemployment.

“We did not come here to fight with anyone . . . we want to take a stand with them by marching to hand over their CVs so they can be listed on the unemployment database,” Gordon Beukes, NEFF representative at Keetmanshoop, said.

Arriving at the labour ministry’s offices, the community members were met by a strong police presence.

//Kharas deputy commissioner for operations Gottfried Kauanda told the group that the High Court found the NEFF’s application to proceed with the protests on Independence Day specifically was not urgent.

“Your current protest is illegal. This order also gives us as the police the right to arrest you, but we will not arrest anyone today as long as you cooperate,” Kauanda said yesterday.

Cune Mooin, the group’s spokesperson, said the ruling prohibits the right of the community to free speech and holding peaceful demonstrations.

SOCIAL UNREST

Meanwhile, president Hage Geingob said the country must guard against the struggle for economic emancipation becoming a justification for social unrest and division.

Geingob was speaking at the official Independence Day event at Outapi.

“As a free and independent nation with a history of a long and bitter struggle, we should reject any efforts to divide our citizens based on tribal, ethnic, racial, gender, or religious differences.

“As a government committed to the improvement of the social welfare of Namibians, we will always strive to protect the fundamental rights of all and ensure that we all follow in the spirit of ‘one Namibia, one nation’,” Geingob said.