Kawana defends Geingob over ‘Farmgate’
Home affairs and immigration minister Albert Kawana has put his head on the chopping block for President Hage Geingob, after going to great lengths in the National Assembly to defend his appointing authority over the ‘Farmgate’ scandal.
Kawana vehemently defended Geingob, saying he has been “maliciously” and “falsely” implicated in the controversial scandal, in which South African president Cyril Ramaphosa is facing accusations of money laundering, human trafficking and corruption, after money stashed at his farm was stolen by Namibian nationals.
The minister also stressed that no person was kidnapped or abducted from Namibia, at the request or behest of South African authorities, as is alleged by South African media.
“I also want to make it very clear that the laws of Namibia are not the laws of South Africa and vice versa. Our President has been falsely and maliciously accused of complicity in the so-called kidnapping or abduction of Mr David Immanuel from Namibia to South Africa.”
Innocent
Kawana dismissed as lies the allegations that one of the suspects, Immanuel, was abducted with the full knowledge of Geingob. He said such assertions are “defamatory, malicious, and politically motivated.”
He also described the demands by political opposition parties and the public to recall Geingob, in light of this scandal, as “wishful thinking”, saying a president cannot be recalled as he is elected by the people.
The Namibian Constitution states that the president can only be removed from office if a two-thirds majority of all members of the National Assembly, confirmed by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the National Council, adopts a resolution to impeach the president.
“The President is innocent and clean as per the comprehensive response by the Presidency. The Namibian police is innocent and clean as per their comprehensive response. Therefore, the chapter on this matter is closed,” Kawana said.
Two sides
Meanwhile, a tug of war is ongoing between the South African authorities, who claim there was no official record of requests for information made by the Namibian Police Force, while the Namibian authorities, including police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga, denied the South African stance.
“They should formally ask the Namibian justice ministry to provide the proof! Because I’m sure we did what we have publicly communicated,” Ndeitunga said.
The justice ministry has failed to provide a response to questions that were sent to them on the matter one week ago, despite a commitment to do so.
“We are seized with this matter and will issue a media release at an appropriate time for an update,” justice ministry spokesperson Simon Idipo said one week ago.
Official sources within the justice ministry have confirmed that the ministry had sent several requests for information to the South African authorities in 2020.
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Kawana vehemently defended Geingob, saying he has been “maliciously” and “falsely” implicated in the controversial scandal, in which South African president Cyril Ramaphosa is facing accusations of money laundering, human trafficking and corruption, after money stashed at his farm was stolen by Namibian nationals.
The minister also stressed that no person was kidnapped or abducted from Namibia, at the request or behest of South African authorities, as is alleged by South African media.
“I also want to make it very clear that the laws of Namibia are not the laws of South Africa and vice versa. Our President has been falsely and maliciously accused of complicity in the so-called kidnapping or abduction of Mr David Immanuel from Namibia to South Africa.”
Innocent
Kawana dismissed as lies the allegations that one of the suspects, Immanuel, was abducted with the full knowledge of Geingob. He said such assertions are “defamatory, malicious, and politically motivated.”
He also described the demands by political opposition parties and the public to recall Geingob, in light of this scandal, as “wishful thinking”, saying a president cannot be recalled as he is elected by the people.
The Namibian Constitution states that the president can only be removed from office if a two-thirds majority of all members of the National Assembly, confirmed by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the National Council, adopts a resolution to impeach the president.
“The President is innocent and clean as per the comprehensive response by the Presidency. The Namibian police is innocent and clean as per their comprehensive response. Therefore, the chapter on this matter is closed,” Kawana said.
Two sides
Meanwhile, a tug of war is ongoing between the South African authorities, who claim there was no official record of requests for information made by the Namibian Police Force, while the Namibian authorities, including police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga, denied the South African stance.
“They should formally ask the Namibian justice ministry to provide the proof! Because I’m sure we did what we have publicly communicated,” Ndeitunga said.
The justice ministry has failed to provide a response to questions that were sent to them on the matter one week ago, despite a commitment to do so.
“We are seized with this matter and will issue a media release at an appropriate time for an update,” justice ministry spokesperson Simon Idipo said one week ago.
Official sources within the justice ministry have confirmed that the ministry had sent several requests for information to the South African authorities in 2020.
[email protected]
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