Namibian President Hage Geingob has warned Botswana to respect international law or risk weakening peace in the region as Gaborone and Windhoek diplomatic tension escalates.
In what is seen as Namibia’s strongest pronouncement yet Geingob fell short of questioning Botswana’s democratic credentials. “In any democracy, every person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” he said. The provocation stems from the killing of four Namibians by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) ostensibly for being poachers. In a strongly worded statement read on his behalf at a memorial service for the four men killed by the BDF, a copy of which has been seen by Sunday Standard, Geingob said: “The lives of all Namibians matter and the innocent killings of our people shall not be tolerated.”
He described the fatal shooting as the killing of “innocent Namibian citizens by the Botswana Defence Forces (BDFs) along the Chobe River, who are said to have crossed into Botswana for fishing. ”Aiming a thinly-veiled dig at the BDF, perhaps for describing the slain men as poachers, Geingob said: “These were fellow Namibian fishermen who wanted to make a living and bring food home for their families.”
Botswana through the BDF has since described the fatal shoot as an “incident between members of the BDF and poachers which resulted in four poachers being killed” and “believed to be part of a network responsible for cross border organized poaching.” Geingob said as members of the United Nations, both countries should subscribe to the rule of law and democracy.
“We believe that those who are alleged to have transgressed must be brought to justice using the due process of law.” He added: “Premised on Article 96 of the Namibian Constitution which deals with our Foreign Relations, we are committed to continue maintaining and strengthening peaceful and mutually beneficial relations with all our neighbours including Botswana.”
He said: “It is for this reason that those who crossed into Namibia illegally are arrested and charged before the courts of law. It is unfortunate that Botswana adopted a policy “to shoot to kill”, which is inconsistent with the international and regional core principles of peaceful co-existence and stability.” The Namibian President said: “Previously, when H.E Seretse Khama Ian Khama was in office, I had also engaged him on the same matter to consider revoking Botswana’s “Shoot to Kill” Policy towards potential transgressors of Botswana’s territorial sovereignty.” However, Geingob noted: “I can say with conviction that there is goodwill on the part of the current President of Botswana to revoke the policy of “shoot to kill”. Therefore, I look forward to an urgent diplomatic solution to the problem at hand.”
He said in order to get to the truth, and also to avoid similar occurrences in future, his government agreed to institute a joint Namibia-Botswana team of diplomats, experts and officers to thoroughly and objectively investigate the matter. “The outcome of the investigation will inform us on what precisely transpired in this regard. Therefore, we appeal to those that have been tasked with the responsibility to investigate the matter, to do so with utmost urgency and diligence,” said Geingob. It has since emerged that as tensions between the two neighbouring countries boiled some Namibians targeted vehicles bearing Botswana registration numbers and caused damage to property. Some Namibian citizens also took to social media warning that they would target Batswana visiting Namibia during the festive season.
Commenting on this, Geingob said the unfortunate incident that occurred at the Ngoma Border post during the arrival of bodies of the four men from Botswana is regrettable. “This unfortunate incident caused damage to property, as well as bodily harm to the truck drivers. Just like we did at the time when our innocent citizens were killed by the BDF, the President of Botswana and I also had a telephonic conversation over this issue on Saturday, November 14, 2020, in which I offered Namibia’s regrets on the damage caused. I reassured the President of Botswana of Namibia’s commitment towards a peaceful solution,” said Geingob. He said in turn, President Masisi, “expressed Botswana’s commitment to ensuring cooperation with her neighbours in addressing all matters that may arise, through dialogue and active engagement.”
He therefore, called upon all Namibian citizens to exercise restraint. “The Government is ceased with the matter and I wish to inform you that we shall not rest until we reach a harmonious solution with the Botswana Government. He said he was “aware of the outcry of our people as a result of Botswana’s policy “to shoot to kill” against potential poachers.” “I am informed that Namibia has lost about thirty-seven (37) citizens under Botswana’s “shoot to kill” policy. Time has come to find a long-lasting solution which will promote peace and stability as well as promote good neighbourliness,” said Geingob.
