A fresh border dispute looms between Botswana and Namibia as opposition parties and traditional leaders mount pressure on the latter to withdraw from a 2018 border treaty.
The Telegraph has learnt that latest development was triggered by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) team patrolling some areas in the Chobe region that includes tourist attraction sites.
The treaty was signed by former President Ian Khama and Namibian President Hage Geingob. Tensions between Botswana and Namibia boiled over in recent years over the fatal shooting of suspected Namibian poachers by the BDF.
Namibia’s opposition Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) has come out with guns blazing demanding that the treaty be revoked and fresh consultations be commenced with the public in that country.
“Botswana is killing our citizens and taking our grazing land. When we talk about public involvement what it means is the government and relevant authority going on the ground to consult the relevant people to find out the truth about this issue. The issue of the boundary treaty, fellow Namibians is not an easy one. There was supposed to be a serious intervention by the government to conduct public consultations,” the party’s parliamentarian, Geoffrey Mwilima told a media conference in Katima Mulilo recently.
He said the details of the treaty were not shared with the public for input.
“I have so far consulted and asked a number of government authorities to provide me with public participation reports, up to this day there is no such document suggesting that there was no public participation regarding this matter,” he said.
According to the Namibian media, the chairperson of the African Commission on human Rights and People’s Rights, Pansy Tlakula had warned Geingob against signing the border treaty in 2016.
Traditional leaders in the Zambezi region have also weighed in on the matter urging the Namibian government to withdraw from the treaty. The Namibian newspaper quoted some Mafwe and Mayei traditional leaders in the region as saying that they did not recognize the legality of the border treaty between Botswana and Namibia.
They reportedly said their communities were now living in fear as Botswana increased military presence along the shared Chobe River.
Namibia’s Immigration, Safety and Security Minister Albert Kawana has issued a statement defending the treaty between the two countries saying “some members of the Traditional Authority were flown by helicopters which belonged to the Water Affairs and NDF (Namibian army) along the entire stretch of the Kwando/Linyanti/Chobe River.”
The Namibian government also denied that the treaty was struck secretly.
“The process was transparent and inline with the letter and spirit of the Namibian Constitution. There is no such thing as a secret treaty struck by the Namibian Government with Botswana,” the Namibian Government said in a statement.
