Unionists sympathise with Amushelelo

The Namibia Wholesale and Retail Workers Union (NWRWU) say activist and investment scheme operator Michael Amushelelo is being held in custody unfairly.

The union’s secretary general, Victor Hamunyela, said this at a press conference in Windhoek on Monday.

This comes after Amushelelo’s bail appeal was dismissed in the Windhoek High Court.

“It is very disturbing and not in the interest of solidarity that the trade unions in this country opted to go mute, except the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna) to call for the release of Michael Amushelelo,” Hamunyela said.

According to him, Amushelelo acted in the interest of the masses and thus his prolonged detention is unfair.

“This comrade was arrested for leading the march of the youth, high unemployment, and any other social issues that affect workers most,” he said.

Hamunyela further expressed his disappointment in his fellow union leaders for not sympathising with Amushelelo, calling it a recurrence of the past colonial times.

“It is disturbing that as Union leaders in this country we opted to allow what a colonial administration was doing when revolutionary Namibians aroused against the system then,” Hamunyela said.

“The NWRWU rank and file demand that the solitary confinement system deployed on Michael Amushelelo be discontinued in an independent Namibia,” he said.

Hamunyela said the independence of the judicial and legislative systems should not be window dressing, but rather act as institutions of the states in which citizens will trust and believe without doubt.

“We are convinced that Amushelelo is not a threat to the community, hence our demand that he be released and attend his trial from home,” he said.

Amushelelo was arrested on 21 March over a public demonstration about Namibia’s high unemployment rate.

His bail appeal was dismissed in the Windhoek High Court on Monday.

Amushelelo will now lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court, his lawyer, Kadhila Amoomo, said.