Showdown at Dukwi as 1,000 'Caprivians' face deportation

Yesterday, defence, justice and security ministry director, Thobo Lethage, immigration and UNHCR officials asked the refugees to congregate at the Dukwi community hall this morning (Friday) to register their property and board vehicles for deportation.

The refugees, the remnant of an initial group of about 3,000 who fled secessionist violence in Namibia’s Caprivi Strip in 1998, lost a Court of Appeal case last month against their removal and deportation back to Namibia. The ‘Caprivians’ were fighting for the secession of the Caprivi Strip from Namibia, which they claim is part of an agreement made by liberation parties before Namibia’s independence.