Withdraw NDF Soldiers from Kapani

I WOULD LIKE to express my concern over the presence of Namibian Defence Force (NDF) soldiers in the Kapani community.

Just after Christmas, the soldiers cleared a piece of land in the community.

A few days after that a base was set up.

All this was done without the knowledge of the community.

Upon enquiry, the commander said they did so due to a communication breakdown with the senior headman, and promised it would be temporary. A meeting between NDF commanders and the community was called when the NDF was shown places of interest at the frontline (border line).

After the exploration, commanders said they could not set up base due to the wet terrain, and promised to set up their base after the rainy season.

The community requested the soldiers to go back to their command post (Mpacha) until the rain stops.

They promised to move back, but said they had a lack of transport. A month has passed now. We haven’t heard anything from the governor or the NDF colonel.

The community is not happy with their presence due to previous experiences with soldiers. We plead with the Ministry of Defence to send the soldiers to the border line or withdraw their troops.

The deployed soldiers spend most of their time drinking at a local bottle store. In the past they have destroyed people’s relationships, marriages, and disturbed children’s education. Their children have been left behind with no support.

Two weeks ago two Botswana-registered helicopters landed at Maunga village at the cattle post of one community member.

The soldiers were called, took their time to respond and missed the opportunity to witness the harassment. Upon enquiry, soldiers and the chief of police claimed they knew about the helicopters and advised the community member to withdraw from his cattle post because it was in Botswana.

This claim was repeated by the Botswana Defence Force, who claimed they bought and were given the land they were on, including Situngu Island.

This statement contradicts the situation on the ground, as the boundary is 4 km from the claimed land. We, the community, demand to know who sold Situngu Island and the land where the cattle post is situated.

We will not give up until the NDF soldiers are moved to the border line or withdraw.

We do not want war, all we need is protection from the BDF. We live in fear every day.

We believe the governor sold us out, because he agreed to the temporary stay of the NDF soldiers at Kapani. If nothing is done urgently we will have to demonstrate and take our grievances to the media.

Soldiers are not meant to be within the community.

Hear our cries and save us from our own.

Muishuñe Mutakolobelwa