Namibian churches meet President over Dukwi refugees

Tefo Pheage | Thursday January 14, 2016 12:51

The meeting scheduled for February 9, will also discuss the growing differences between the Dukwi refugees and stakeholders such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)  and the governments of Botswana and Namibia.

In a written response to Mmegi, the vice president of CCN, Clem Marais, said his organisation has called the meeting in order to inform attendants about the situation and to “gain their support for an official request to our President, Dr. Hage Geingob, to grant the refugees full amnesty upon their return to Namibia”.

He also confirmed that they have held meetings with Botswana Council of Churches (BCC), the latest being on December 2, 2015. They informed us about the plight of the refugees at Dukwi.” The refugees recently went to the high court protesting the authorities’ decision to repatriate them to Namibia, a home they said was not save for them.

Their fears came clearly in one of the lead applicants Felix Kakula who said the Namibian government was “a habitual violator” of its obligations under the Refugee Convention, UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

He said most of the refugees who had returned home had either been killed or jailed for trivial charges.

Mmegi has it on good authority that the Dukwi refugees debacle is a hot potato in Namibia just as it is in Botswana.

The churches, it is understood, are fighting from  the corner of refugees as they have several reservations - one of them being the banning of United Democratic Party (UDP), a party which some refugees are passionate members of. The political refugees fear that they would be killed, jailed indefinitely without trial or slapped with trumped up charges.

The churches also took notice of the harrassment claims and want to investigate allegations made by the refugees that Namibian Human Rights has reported that a small village in Western Caprivi, which is mostly inhabited by repatriates, was surrounded by security forces.

Botswana churches have openly supported refugees’ court case arguing that the Tripartite Committee Report which is crucial in their repatriation be released. The refugees have successfully sued against their December 31 repatriation date and now await the report.