Nampa denies political interference

The Namibia Press Agency (Nampa) says it is concerned by allegations of political interference made by politician Job Amupanda in an online post.

“Nampa is concerned by the inaccuracies in a social media post published by Job Shipululo Amupanda.

The board acknowledges the importance of addressing misinformation in the lead-up to the elections,” a Nampa statement released by the board of directors on Saturday says.

This comes after Amupanda on Friday alleged that New Era has been captured by political forces that fired the former editor and brought a deployee from Nampa to be editor.

According to Nampa officials, the revocation of Confidence Musariri’s secondment to New Era was not influenced by political considerations.

“The agency is fully aware of the potential impact that misinformation can have on the media landscape.

The board would like to reassure the public and its stakeholders that its decision to revoke the secondment of Confidence Musariri to New Era Publication Corporation was in no way politically influenced as stated by Amupanda,” the statement says.

The statement adds that Nampa is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and impartiality in all its decision-making processes and is committed to promoting transparency and trust when it comes to providing all Namibian citizens with access to accurate and reliable information.

“Nampa’s board reaffirms its dedication to making-decisions based solely on merit and evidence, without any political bias,” the statement says.

Nampa also said the board has implemented robust procedures to ensure transparency and accountability in all the agency’s operations.

“The Nampa board implores all stakeholders to work together towards upholding the integrity of the Namibian media landscape and prevent the spread of misinformation,” the statement says.

The Namibian reported last week that Nampa chief executive Linus Chata revealed the secondment of Musariri as the new managing editor of New Era in an email to staff.

“His secondment has been made necessary by the evolving process of the merger between Nampa and New Era Publications Corporation. While the merger is not complete, there is an urgent need now at the New Era that requires Musariri’s services,” the email reads.

This move follows the exit of the newspaper’s previous managing editor, Johnathan Beukes.