Shalli probe ‘a witch-hunt’

THE suspension of Defence Force Chief Martin Shalli has all the hallmarks of a political witch-hunt, the official opposition party Congress of Democrats (CoD) said yesterday.

‘Namibians must be scared, very scared – it appears as if the Minister (Kawana) who made the announcement, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the prosecutory authorities are all diving for cover whilst the media is replete with all manner of accusations against the crimes allegedly committed by Lieutenant General Martin Shalli – we smell a rat here,’ said CoD Secretary General Tsudao Gurirab.’Our simple question is why not prosecute (him)? Why not proceed and charge the General instead of dabbling in dark actions, which can only compromise national security? Surely the country’s most senior military officer cannot be given marching orders in this most cavalier fashion. The country’s defence force is our ultimate insurance policy for which billions are voted annually in Parliament,’ Gurirab said in a statement last night.’With the current rift within Swapo, Namibians can be forgiven for having little trust in the actions of Government,’ the CoD charged. ‘We are not even sure whether the Security Commission was properly constituted in terms of Article 114 of the Constitution to act in the manner it supposedly has.’Recent actions, such as its notorious ‘Spy Bill’, would only strengthen the suspicions of Namibians that Government was prepared ‘to ride roughshod over our Constitution to retain power by all means, but we have an opportunity to post this government in November’, the CoD Secretary General said.In another development related to the bombshell suspension of Shalli, opposition parties represented in Parliament requested a meeting with President Pohamba to discuss the fate of the Defence Chief, which was initially granted for 17h00 yesterday, but was then postponed to next week. ‘We of the Republican Party are extremely worried about this suspension, the matter runs far deeper than meets they eye on the surface,’ RP President Henk Mudge told The Namibian yesterday. brigitte@namibian.com.na