Namibians petition Botswana

Namibians delivered a petition to Botswana embassy today during a peaceful demonstration against extra judicial killings by Botswana soldiers.

Confirming receipt of the petition, Botswana’s High Commissioner to Namibia, Dr Batlang Comma Serema said, “Everything went well. We received the petition and there is no problem.”

Serema was responding to questions raised regarding the security of Batswana in Namibia in the midst of the protest.

This morning Namibians took to the streets in protest of the killings of four men believed to be fishermen who were shot down by Botswana Defence Force soldiers in the Chobe river, near Kasane last week.

Three of the men are said to have been biological brothers.

Investigations into the matter are still ongoing as there is currently a debate on whether the men were harmless fishermen or poachers.

Meanwhile Serema has confirmed that he was summoned by the Namibian government prior to the demonstration but was reluctant to share what was discussed at the meeting.

Nonetheless, Namibia’s Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who doubles as Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, has revealed in a press statement that Serema was summoned in order for the Namibian government to express “regrets and grave concern over the tragic killings.”

“While I informed that the government of the republic of Namibia does not condone poaching, I strongly deplore the extrajudicial killings by the Botswana Defence Force in their anti-poaching drive. Bearing in mind that the two governments signed the boundary treaty in 2018, I sought clarity from the High Commissioner on whether Botswana still maintained the “shoot to kill” as a government policy, as such a policy has potential to cause disharmony between the two neighbouring countries,” Nandi-Ndaitwah explained.