Does the law matter at all?

FRITZ H DAUSAB, POLITICAL ANALYST WRITES:

“The Constitution is just a piece of paper” – a statement made by President Hage Geingob.

This article is written to touch on a few truths, such as Article 1, dealing with the establishment of the Republic of Namibia and the identification of its territory.

"The Republic of Namibia is hereby established as a sovereign, secular, democratic and unitary State founded upon the principles of democracy, the rule of law and justice for all."

President Geingob, as one of the drafters of the Constitution, should understand why the rule of law is mentioned in the first article of the Constitution.

He needed to answer the questions asked by Honourable Bernadus Swartbooi.

Namibia is a constitutional democracy and after independence in 1990, opted to have a liberal, free-market economy.

Even though Article 1 fragmented government power into the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, thereby creating checks and balances amongst the various institutions of government, the executive arm of the government have been part of the legislature in the Parliament.



WHY WE SHOULD WORRY

As members of Parliament, Swapo drafts the laws/policies and as the Executive, executes these same laws. The Swapo president furthermore appoints the ministers and commanders of the police and defence force, as well as the Minister of Justice, Chief Justice and Judge President.

If this does not worry ordinary Namibians, think about Esau and Shanghala, who are in prison currently. That is what happens if Swapo ministers are allowed to draft or amend laws/acts for private gain.

Constitutionalism is not to be played with. Opposition parties in Namibia sees government as a vital guarantee of order and stability in society because we are constantly aware of the danger that our government may become a tyranny against ordinary citizens. The Namibian ruling elite is a mirror image of Lord Acton's statement that "power tends to Corrupt" (Heywood, A. 2007).

Opposition parties, such as the Landless People's Movement, follow the written rules of the Namibian Constitution, especially Article 17 on Political Activity: "All citizens shall have the right to participate in peaceful political activity intended to influence the composition and policies of the Government. All citizens shall have the right to form and join political parties and, subject to such qualifications prescribed by law as are necessary in a democratic society, to participate in the conduct of public affairs, whether directly or through freely chosen representatives."

Article 60 of the Constitution deals with the duties, privileges and immunities of Parliamentary members, and Rule 3 provides that members shall be entitled to the protection of such privileges and immunities.

Utterances by former president Sam Nujoma and even the incumbent Geingob, flies directly in the face of our Constitution - as they always feel offended whenever opposition parties are formed or not toeing the line of Swapo.

Newsflash! Neither opposition parties, nor their members belong to Swapo, mister President. Which means the opposition do not have to listen to you and cater to your ego.



FLEXING THE MUSCLES

Free thinkers and the ones worried about corruption, the high debt levels of government and unemployment of more than 50% were shocked to see bodyguards of the President in the Parliament chambers on the 18th of April 2021. Whether they are allowed there, is a question for another day.

The Sergeant-at-arms is the official security official used by the Speaker to remove an MP from the chambers for whatever reason. These people are trained not to touch the body of the MP's, but only escort an MP out, unlike the bodyguard who was instigated against LPM and behaved unruly in Parliament.

Why would Geingob allow his bodyguard to assault an MP of the opposition?

During question time the President, as usual, refused to answer all the questions posed by Honourable Swartbooi. The specific question was about the conduct of another MP, the current Prime Minister, who with her husband bought two farms privately and sold those farms to government at a hugely inflated price.

The question raised by Honourable Swartbooi, was how Geingob was going to deal with the Prime Minister sitting next to him; as the PM is the guardian of the San people in Namibia.



Conclusion

Another bodyguard of Geingob after the proceedings in Parliament went and made a case against LPM leaders Swartbooi and Henny Seibeb. What were the grounds? That is the million dollar question.

Fights occur because opposition party members want to get the real truth from the governing party. We send cadres to Parliament to have robust arguments, ask good questions and expose corruption in Namibia.

For the security or bodyguard to go make a case of treason against LPM leaders in Parliament, are signs of fascism and communism by the Swapo government, as they claim a monopoly on truth, refuses to tolerate opposing ideas of opposition parties and attempts to control opposition to ensure compliance to Swapo dogma (Heywood, 2007).

Finally, I believe that the Speaker is very biased in his dealings with opposition representatives. Go rest please "Grootman", we are young intellectuals chasing the truth, and will not be stopped to seek the truth.