NSHR snubs Zim

THE National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has refused to give a copy of its submission to the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of former Namibian President Sam Nujoma to the Zimbabwean government.

Following yesterday’s lead article in The Namibian, which covered the NSHR’s request to the ICC to investigate Nujoma’s continued refusal to shed more light on the disappearance of some Namibians before and after Independence, the Zimbabwean High Commission approached the rights organisation for a copy of the submission. However, the NSHR responded by saying the High Commission’s interest was not genuine, as its government subjected people to gross and systematic violations of human rights.”To honour such request would be tantamount to us wasting our time and meagre resources.(W)e therefore regret that we are unable to honour your request,” the NSHR’s Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon wrote in a letter to Efram Chikadaya, Counsellor at the Zimbabwean High Commission.The letter was copied to The Namibian, as the initial story was carried in the newspaper.The NSHR wants the International Criminal Court to hold Nujoma and three others accountable for people who went missing under the care of Swapo.The ICC confirmed that it was weighing the merits of the case even though the court only came into being in 2002.NSHR argues that the four – Nujoma, former Defence Minister Erkki Nghimtina, former Chief of Defence and now retired Lieutenant General Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala, and NDF First Battalion Colonel Thomas Shuuya – be charged under the court’s “continuous violation doctrine” even though some of the crimes were committed before the ICC came into existence.It will be the first time that the ICC’s continuous violation doctrine will be tested.However, the NSHR responded by saying the High Commission’s interest was not genuine, as its government subjected people to gross and systematic violations of human rights.”To honour such request would be tantamount to us wasting our time and meagre resources.(W)e therefore regret that we are unable to honour your request,” the NSHR’s Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon wrote in a letter to Efram Chikadaya, Counsellor at the Zimbabwean High Commission.The letter was copied to The Namibian, as the initial story was carried in the newspaper.The NSHR wants the International Criminal Court to hold Nujoma and three others accountable for people who went missing under the care of Swapo.The ICC confirmed that it was weighing the merits of the case even though the court only came into being in 2002.NSHR argues that the four – Nujoma, former Defence Minister Erkki Nghimtina, former Chief of Defence and now retired Lieutenant General Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala, and NDF First Battalion Colonel Thomas Shuuya – be charged under the court’s “continuous violation doctrine” even though some of the crimes were committed before the ICC came into existence.It will be the first time that the ICC’s continuous violation doctrine will be tested.