NDF Heroes Not Seen Anymore

GROWING UP, I would show off to my friends because my father was a captain in the Namibian Defence Force (NDF).

A decorated soldier with previous deployments for the UN peacekeeping mission to the Congo for the second Congo war, and to Liberia for the Liberian conflict, my father was not only my hero, but risked his life for many.

Gone are the days of true soldiers. Today’s generation of soldiers will not be honoured at all, not today, not ever.

The new-age Namibian soldier will be remembered for the atrocities he/she has committed against Namibian civilians. The recent deployment of NDF members to the streets of Namibia was obviously decided on with good intentions in mind.

However, the actions of the soldiers show a lot of failures with regards to general discipline in the NDF ranks.

When Namibian soldiers were deployed on foreign missions, there weren’t any reports of abuse of power, regardless of the imminent dangers associated with war-torn regions.

My father never told me a story of how he and his colleagues shot and killed an innocent man in the streets, nor did they slap any woman with or without probable cause. Those were the true soldiers which Namibia deserved.

This young army will never understand freedoms of the Namibian people because they’ve never risked their lives to fight for the freedom of a people.

For what it’s worth, I want the nation to know that I grew up around a father who wore the NDF uniform with great pride, and never, not once, did I ever think I’d be afraid of a Namibian soldier.

But it’s the reality, and I know I am not the only one.

Given Joao

Windhoek