- Says MoU is a mockery of sufferingendured by Namibians at the hands of BDF
- Says MoU does not address security threats Botswana poses for Namibia
- Chobe council says movement should engage Namibian council
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
The Namibian Lives Matter Movement (NLMM) has denounced a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Chobe District Council in Botswana and Zambezi Regional Council in Namibia as an insult and a mockery of the suffering that Namibians endure at the hands of Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
The neighbouring local councils signed the MoU for cooperation in the fields of economic development, the environment, waste management,shared resources, as sports and culture.
Reacting to the signing of the MoU, the National Executive Chairman of NLMM, Sinvula Mudabeti, said Namibians ahould “reject the MoU as it does not address the attitude of Botswana towards Namibians”.
He said he found it curious that the MoU was only now being signed when people of the Zambezi region have, at any rate, always enjoyed good neighbourliness with their relativesacross the Chobe River in Botswana.
Politicians want to pretend that such relations never existed when in actual fact they have always been there, Mudabeti asserted. To sign MoU that does not address security threats from Botswana insults our intelligence and we will not accept such behaviour.”
Known for his belligerent posture against Botswana, the Chairman of NLMM said the trigger-happy Botswana Defence Force has killed 37 innocent and unarmed Namibians whose lives cannot be restored the signing of a MoU on cooperation in sports and culture.
How do you play soccer with people that shoot you? Truth be told, it is Botswana that needs to be taught the values of ubuntu and the virtue of sharing God-given resources, Mudabeti said.
Reached for comment, Council Secretary of Chobe District, Esau Mbanga, said he could not say much because the MoU is still under discussion.
There is nothing I could say concerning the MoU because it is yet to be signedand we have is only a draft,Mbanga said.
However, if the movement is sceptical about the partnership, they should engage the Zambezi Regional Council.”