‘I never thought it would be easy’

Julieta Amushelelo knew being the wife of an activist wasn’t going to be easy, but this year things just seem to be that much tougher.

“I think this year he was arrested four or five times and we are only in the fourth month,” Julieta says outside the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura.

She is dressed in black for her husband Michael Amushelelo’s latest court appearance.

“Just the fact that he’s not at home and we have businesses to run, and every time he gets arrested, those businesses are a bit neglected.

“We also have a family together,” Julieta says.

Michael has been a controversial figure in Namibian politics and business in recent years. He is currently facing multiple lawsuits, including a court case in which he is accused of running a Ponzi scheme involving millions of Namibian dollars.

But it’s his activism work for unemployed young people and unfair labour cases that has propelled his political profile. Juelieta married Michael on 13 August 2021. It has not been all rosy for the two, who have both been arrested in the past two years.

In May 2022, Michael handed himself over to the police after he raided shops at Windhoek’s China Town, which meant he was in custody and could not celebrate their anniversary. This is when Julieta says she started to question things.

“I asked myself: ‘Why did I do this?’,” she says.

However, she quickly reminded herself it was for a “greater cause”.

Julieta stresses that her husband being arrested is not fun, and the days before a protest are filled with many sleepless nights and much work to be done.

However, she tells The Namibian when she married him, she decided she would be a wife that understands and supports him “no matter what”.

Michael’s most recent arrest was on Independence Day, in connection with an unemployment demonstration that police chief Joseph Shikongo said should not proceed.

This raised concerns around the use of the apartheid era Public Gatherings Proclamation, passed just one year before Namibia gained independence.

He and fellow activist Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, as well as Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Inna Hengari face counts of public violence, malicious damage to property and incitement to public violence, with the state alleging that they “marched about the streets and created a riot”, defied lawful instructions from the police and damaged a police vehicle.

Julieta, who also faces charges in connection with the China Town protests in May last year, says she started her activism journey when she met her husband and saw the passion he has for people and the youth.

This, she says, made it easy for her to fall in line with his dream and stand by him.

“As time went by, I started to understand his cause and what he’s fighting for, his passion and purpose in life, and that made it easier to adapt and understand,” she says.

Among Michael’s court cases is a matter that relates to his foreign currency dealings, in which he and his business partner Gregory Cloete face 365 criminal charges.

The two men are accused of having operated a Ponzi scheme, in which money was solicited from investors lured by promises of high returns, and later investors’ funds were used to pay back earlier investments.

Michael’s other arrests relate to his ongoing activism, including leading protests at Windhoek’s China Town last year and at Walvis Bay earlier this year.

At the coastal town, Michael was charged with, among others, failing to comply with the instructions of an authorised officer and willfully or unnecessarily preventing, hindering or interrupting the free and proper passage of traffic.

Michael’s lawyer, Kadhila Amoomo, has in the past described him as a mirror reflecting the soul of Namibian youths.

“Having won political freedom, poverty was never defeated, so the current generation must continue the fight. Hopefully we win,” Kadhila said last month in a Facebook post.