Communication ministry warns against the spreading of false information ahead of November elections

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has issued a stern warning to the public about the dangers of spreading misinformation ahead of the upcoming elections.

Speaking to Desert Radio yesterday, deputy minister Modestus Amutse said the deliberate dissemination of false information threatens the integrity of the democratic process and could result in serious consequences.

Amutse said it is important to be vigilant when consuming and sharing content, especially from social media platforms, where misleading information is often rampant.

“Serious action may be taken against these people who continue misinforming and disinforming the public, because it’s not the right thing to do. It is actually interfering with the democratic process of the country,” he said.

Amutse said while the ministry does not plan to impose new regulations on the dissemination of information, the existing communication frameworks will be leveraged to combat the spread of false content.

This comes after a letter made social media rounds, alleging that Swapo has instructed the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to rig the November elections in favour of Swapo.

The letter, written on a Swapo letterhead and addressed to the ECN’s Heidi Jacobs, promises N$2 million if the commission were to favour the ruling party in the elections.

“I am aware of the social media content that was initially referred to, and definitely it is not a true reflection of the situation in Namibia. So, it’s probably an individual who was either sitting or standing somewhere, deciding to mislead the nation to that extent, and also to discredit the process of the election, which is unfortunate,” Amutse said.

The letter has since been discredited as a hoax.
Amutse condemned the circulation of election misinformation, particularly those suggesting that the ECN has been instructed to mislead, manipulate, or rig the election process.

“We want to continue to educate the nation. Number one, those who are disinforming and those who are targeted to receive this information which is incorrect or false and, therefore, misleading. So, this type of information, we condemn it, especially the one mentioned, saying that the ECN is instructed to mislead or perhaps to rob or maybe to rig the elections,” he said.

ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka has expressed concern over the letter, saying the commission distances itself from it and that these allegations are malicious, baseless and aimed at undermining the integrity of the ECN.

Siluka notes that the letter, which falsely implicates a senior official, appears to be a deliberate act of impersonation and misinformation.

He warns that such actions threaten the credibility of the electoral process and calls on the public to refrain from spreading or giving credence to the false claims.

The ECN has initiated an investigation to trace the source of the misinformation and vowed to take action against those responsible.

“Any attempt to undermine the commission’s work through false statements will not be tolerated,” Siluka says.