Namibian navy patrols Chobe River

THE communities around Impalila Island in the Zambezi region have welcomed the arrival of three navy boats early this week.

The boats will patrol along the hostile Chobe River, which borders Namibia and Botswana.

The hostility in the area escalated last November after the death of the Nchindo brothers – Tommy, Martin and Wamunyima – and their cousin Sinvula Munyeme.

Last month Zambezi governor Lawrence Sampofu in his state of the region address acknowledged that the community living along the Chobe, Linyanti and Kwandu rivers are living with constant threats, harassment, fear, intimidation and killings from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).

Although members of the Namibian Defence Force were dispatched to the area, they were only patrolling on land and not on the river.

Kasimbi Mulutu, a community leader at Impalila, says: “We feel secure because if the other country’s soldiers try to attack us our soldiers can help us.”

Kabbe North constituency councillor John Linkando welcomed the government’s response.

“Apart from saving human lives we also feel our natural resources are not protected against poaching by foreigners,” he says.

The Namibian Lives Matter (NLM) movement, which has been at the forefront of demanding the deployment of soldiers to the borders since the death of the Nchindo brothers, also welcomed the move.

NLM national leader Simvula Mudabeti describes the move as a realisation by the president that their demands for border security and protection were valid and genuine.

He is hopeful that the government has made sufficient budgetary provisions to ensure that the navy patrols the river all year.

“It will not serve the intended purpose of maintaining border presence by our armed forces if the government does not provide funds for fuelling, maintenance and upkeep of the boats and the support personnel,” Mudabeti says.

He urged the government to ensure that the entire stretch of the Chobe River is patrolled by the navy.

Mudabeti says the movement is not calling for war, but for the protection of Namibia’s territory.

“Ours is a noble and genuine cause that seeks protection for our people along the Chobe River, fishermen, farmers and the communities that subsist on the Chobe for their livelihood and sustenance,” he says.

Mudabeti cautioned the government to clear the air around the Border Treaty of 2018, saying if left unattended every effort to secure the national borders would be futile.

It is not clear if the deployment of the soldiers is permanent as minister of defence and veterans affairs Frans Kapofi could not be reached for comment.