Soldiers shocked by Shalli suspension

MEMBERS of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) heard ‘with shock’ the news of the sudden suspension of their Chief, Lieutenant General Martin Shalli, according to the Government-owned Namibia Press Agency (Nampa).

The press agency quoted the acting Chief of the Defence Force, Peter Nambundunga – who was appointed in Shalli’s position until an investigation into alleged ‘serious irregularities’ against the career soldier are completed – as saying that the atmosphere among the approximately 11 000 NDF members was ‘sombre’ after the news broke.The Namibian has it on good authority that about two-thirds of NDF members did not turn up for last Thursday’s morning parade at the Suiderhof military base in Windhoek, as well as at Grootfontein and other major bases like Keetmanshoop. They claimed they were sick, but actually they were apparently still shocked about Shalli’s suspension, the news of which broke Wednesday afternoon. The report of absenteeism was however dismissed by the Ministry of Defence yesterday. ‘It is not true that a large number of soldiers did not report to the morning parade or booked off sick last Thursday,’ the Ministry’s spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Monica Sheya, told The Namibian. ‘If the soldiers would have been absent [in large numbers] that would have been like a mutiny, which is against the disciplinary conduct of the NDF and against the Namibian Constitution,’ Sheya added.Shalli is said to be allegedly linked to a deal with Chinese nationals and large sums of money have allegedly been flowing into his bank account from the Chinese.Sources close to the ruling Swapo Party and the main opposition party, the Congress of Democrats (CoD), have charged that Shalli’s temporary suspension could be politically motivated. There has also been intense public speculation about the timing.Government on Friday denied that politics was involved.’Government finds it irresponsible and dangerous that the opposition and anonymous sources quoted in newspaper reports suggest that Lt Gen Shalli’s suspension is tied to ‘internal frictions within Swapo’, also implicating that those close to the Founding President [Sam Nujoma] have a hand in it,’ Information Minister Joel Kaapanda told reporters at a press conference in Windhoek.