Christian party threatens to sue police over land
• BCP demands apology
The party is 'embarrassed and embittered' by the police chief inspector's pronouncement, its president said.
One of the newest political formations in the country, Body of Christ Party Namibia (BCP), has threatened to institute court action against the Namibian Police because the latter allegedly instructed traditional authorities not to avail land to minority churches.
Police chief inspector Christina Van Dumen DaFonsech allegedly made the pronouncement when she met traditional and church [mostly Pentecostal] leaders at Outapi last week.
In an interview with Namibian Sun over the weekend, the party’s president, Bishop Festus Thomas, demanded an apology from DaFonsech.
“The pronouncement is very dangerous and it is against the constitutional obligations to the extent that it presented a slogan of hate speech, discrimination [and] human rights abuse. As a result, we demand an apology from your esteemed office,” he said.
Thomas added that the pronouncement - in the “current landless situation” - comes as result of a surge of false accusations and hearsay against minority landless churches.
‘Embarrassed and embittered’
“We are not against the law and its principles, but we are very embarrassed and embittered by the meeting held by the police that showed no remorse for landless church leaders,” he said.
Thomas called on the police to provide evidence that churches cause violence, adding that they must be dealt with individually.
“The police are always mistaking allegations before a classification of evidence. This is done deliberately [and] this can develop into [a] serious human rights violation and unnecessary confrontation,” he said.
“Without substantive evidence, the police will be guilty and [this will be] engraved as malpractice,” Thomas stressed.
Police chief inspector Christina Van Dumen DaFonsech allegedly made the pronouncement when she met traditional and church [mostly Pentecostal] leaders at Outapi last week.
In an interview with Namibian Sun over the weekend, the party’s president, Bishop Festus Thomas, demanded an apology from DaFonsech.
“The pronouncement is very dangerous and it is against the constitutional obligations to the extent that it presented a slogan of hate speech, discrimination [and] human rights abuse. As a result, we demand an apology from your esteemed office,” he said.
Thomas added that the pronouncement - in the “current landless situation” - comes as result of a surge of false accusations and hearsay against minority landless churches.
‘Embarrassed and embittered’
“We are not against the law and its principles, but we are very embarrassed and embittered by the meeting held by the police that showed no remorse for landless church leaders,” he said.
Thomas called on the police to provide evidence that churches cause violence, adding that they must be dealt with individually.
“The police are always mistaking allegations before a classification of evidence. This is done deliberately [and] this can develop into [a] serious human rights violation and unnecessary confrontation,” he said.
“Without substantive evidence, the police will be guilty and [this will be] engraved as malpractice,” Thomas stressed.
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Namibian Sun
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