Dagga is a Racial Justice, Equality Issue

Police chief Joseph Shikongo has surely crossed the line when it comes to law enforcement by unilaterally and unreasonably banning a protest by people advocating the legalisation of dagga, the marijuana plant.

Shikongo told the Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN) that their request to hold a peaceful protest march, slated for this month, was “detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of Namibia, national security, public order, decency and morality, due to the involvement of foreign participants from South Africa and European countries who are coming to Namibia specifically for the sole purpose of participating in the march”.

Such reasoning would be laughable had it not come from the police chief.

He is clearly abusing the powers of a democratic Namibia where even the most controversial protests have more often than not been peaceful.

In fact, protests and gatherings are protected by the Namibian Constitution.

Just how will a few foreign nationals from countries which have implemented progressive marijuana legalisation be a threat to public order, decency and morality?

So much for solidarity with the oppressed around the world.

The police have never labelled foreign nationals who have participated in Swapo meetings, including campaign rallies, as detrimental to sovereignty and national security. In fact, there is likely a much bigger probability of such people influencing the country’s governance.

The Namibian Police and lawmakers should rather re-examine their stance of clinging to archaic laws against the use of marijuana.

Drug laws about marijuana have been proven to be largely aimed at criminalising blacks and helping to perpetuate income inequality.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has many proven and documented positive uses, including for medicinal purposes.

The GUN is right to call on the government to “stop selectively allowing” some retail outlets and pharmacies to “freely sell cannabis products without prosecution, while everyday cannabis users are arrested”.

Criminalising dagga users while there’s no proof of harm to society more than that caused by legal substances such as alcohol make no sense.

Shikongo and our lawmakers don’t need to be reminded that alcohol abuse has, among others, led to vehicle accidents in which many people have been killed or injured.

Indiscriminate dagga policing has turned peace-loving people into criminals and has far-reaching consequences – such as losing their livelihoods, financial institutions refusing to lend them money or educational institutions locking them out.

Let people express their rights through peaceful public protests.