Khama, Geingob snub churches over Namibian refugees

Tefo Pheage | Friday March 11, 2016 18:00

 

The Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) and Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) have revealed that their respective state Presidents, Ian Khama and Hage Geingob, snubbed their requests to meet and defuse the burning issue of the Namibian refugees at Dukwi.

Both the BCC and CCN had requested an audience with their Presidents to put the issue at rest.

This week, the two church bodies said that apart from ensuring that justice is served, they were concerned that the issue is already under the international eye. More than 900 Namibian refugees are refusing to be repatriated to their country of origin and have instituted legal proceedings against the move to revoke their refugee status.

The government is presently embroiled in a High Court case against the refugees, that has also roped in the churches and human rights organisations.

The Namibian refugees are suing government to stop a looming forced repatriation.

 In a wide-ranging, no-holds barred interview, the leadership of the BCC, vice-president, Reverend Gabriel Tsuaneng and Secretary General, Reverend Mosweu Simane said President Ian Khama had declined their call for dialogue.

“We had requested to meet the President to dialogue because we realised that the issue had attracted international attention and was likely to portray this noble country in bad light,” Simane said.

“Moreover, we were of the view that a lot of things leading to the forced repatriation of the refugees were not done right. The President, however, declined the call for dialogue.” Simane was, however, quick to clear impressions that Khama was unreceptive to faith leaders.

“He has hosted us on some issues, the recent one being the discussion over the popular Joint Advisory Committee of Ntlo Ya DiKgosi and BCC on Social Values report.”

Contacted for comment, government spokesperson, Jeff Ramsay said he would need to inform himself first about the said letter to the President, before responding.

“I am not yet aware of the said letter. You can email me a questionnaire for me to look into and check for you,” he responded.

The BCC has been working in collaboration with the CCN, who also revealed to this publication that their efforts to engage Geingob had equally been unfruitful. In an emailed response, CCN vice-president, Reverend Clem Marais said their efforts to engage the Namibian government had failed at a preliminary level.

“The CCN convened a meeting of the Council of Church Leaders on February  9 this year in Windhoek.  The Council is an advisory forum comprising of all the titular leaders of member churches with one other senior leader from each church.”

“This meeting was linked via Skype with leaders of the Botswana Council of Churches.  “The CCL mandated a three-person committee to seek audience with our Ministry of Home Affairs in order to find out what the official stance of the Government (of the Republic of Namibia) is regarding the refugees who are to be repatriated.

“To date we have not succeeded in getting an appointment,” he said.  Marais said the council had also asked the two member churches who have a presence in the Caprivi/Zambezi Region to give them feedback on the process of reintegration of the refugees who had already returned.

 

Is Botswana hostile to refugees?

On June 30, 2015, the Defence, Justice and Security minister, Shaw Kgathi, under whom refugee matters fall, informed both the UNHCR representatives and the Namibian government that his government, had a clause in the original refugee settlement agreement, giving the Namibians at Dukwi up to December 31, 2015 to voluntarily return to Namibia.

The Namibians’ case, however is not the first and only hotly contested case, as it follows prominent cases involving Ugandans and Eritreans. While the government seems to have succeeded in deporting the two Ugandans, the Eritreans and Namibian refugees are still work in progress. In November last year, Khama’s government defied the UNHCR and various stakeholders and deported two Ugandan refugees, Timothy Yamin and Musa Mohammed Isabirye, in what was seen by the UNHCR as a gross violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

 The convention allows for two exceptions to the principles of non-return according to UNHCR spokesperson, Tinah Ghelli.

“The two exceptions should only be applied as an extreme measure in restrictively defined situations where there are reasonable grounds for the refugee to be a danger to the security of the country or when the refugee has been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime and constitutes a danger to the community of the country,” she said.

Ghelli also said: “UNHCR is of the opinion that the two Ugandan refugees did not warrant deportation since due process was not undertaken.” In response the government, through the Attorney General, said officers were only aware of the declaration by the President that the two applicants were undesirable inhabitants and “must have taken it (to mean) that the applicants were a threat to national security”.

Interestingly, around the time of the Ugandans’ deportation, government was also dealing with the sudden refusal by a group of Eritrean football players to go back home, after a match with the Zebras. The players cited the risky political environment in the Horn of Africa nation.

The government initially refused to grant the players asylum and refugee status to the shock and disappointment of the UNHCR, human rights organisations and activists.

The matter went to court and the players’ planned deportation was halted. According to the UNHCR, Botswana has had 117 resettlement departures since January this year.  Since January 2015, the UNHCR has facilitated the return of five Namibians, and 13 Zimbabweans. By September 14, 2015, 117 refugees had departed for the USA, Australia, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Canada.

Botswana is party to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. However, analysts have noted that one of the biggest challenges in Botswana is that the Refugees Act is not aligned to the 1951 Convention. UNHCR and the government of Botswana are reviewing the act with the hope of updating it.

The UNHCR said they continuously engage and advocate for the government to take active steps to amend the country’s refugee legislation in order to enhance adherence to international refugee protection standards. Defence, Justice and Security permanent secretary, Augustine Makgonatsotlhe said all the government wants is long-lasting solutions for all refugees.

“We want everlasting solutions for refugees and we will continue to engage UNHCR on the possibilities of durable solutions to their problems,” he told this publication.