Zim mission fails to stop protest

THE Zimbabwean High Commission in Namibia late yesterday afternoon tried to shut down a demonstration planned by civil society against police brutality in that country.

They failed. A senior Police officer confirmed to The Namibian that they had received instructions from Zimbabwean diplomats to cordon off the street where the High Commission is situated, but Norman Tjombe of the Namibia Non-Governmental Organisation Forum (Nangof) said they had objected to the instruction.The officer said the Zimbabwean High Commissioner had called Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga to request that the demonstrators be kept away from their offices.That was after the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa), “as a matter of courtesy”, called the High Commission to inform them about the planned demonstration.Shortly after the High Commission learnt about the demonstration from Misa, they contacted the Police, informing them that they must keep the demonstrators at least 50 metres away from their offices – basically keep them in Independence Avenue.”They (High Commission) forgot that this is Namibia and that those rules do not apply here.We got permission from the Police and that is all that counts,” said one of the organisers.Last night, Tjombe wrote to the Police calling for their co-operation.He said they would get an urgent court interdict if the Police refused them access to the area outside the Zimbabwean High Commission.The demonstrators will be addressed by, among others, two leading Zimbabwean human rights lawyers.A senior Police officer confirmed to The Namibian that they had received instructions from Zimbabwean diplomats to cordon off the street where the High Commission is situated, but Norman Tjombe of the Namibia Non-Governmental Organisation Forum (Nangof) said they had objected to the instruction.The officer said the Zimbabwean High Commissioner had called Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga to request that the demonstrators be kept away from their offices.That was after the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa), “as a matter of courtesy”, called the High Commission to inform them about the planned demonstration. Shortly after the High Commission learnt about the demonstration from Misa, they contacted the Police, informing them that they must keep the demonstrators at least 50 metres away from their offices – basically keep them in Independence Avenue.”They (High Commission) forgot that this is Namibia and that those rules do not apply here.We got permission from the Police and that is all that counts,” said one of the organisers.Last night, Tjombe wrote to the Police calling for their co-operation.He said they would get an urgent court interdict if the Police refused them access to the area outside the Zimbabwean High Commission.The demonstrators will be addressed by, among others, two leading Zimbabwean human rights lawyers.