Gov't To Forcefully Repatriate Caprivians
Chakalisa Dube | Monday September 16, 2019 11:10
A meeting held last week Thursday between officials from the Botswana government and their Namibian counterparts in Francistown closed any possibility of the repatriation being halted. Sources have maintained that following the meeting the repatriation is expected to start before the end of this week.
After the meeting the government said the Caprivians at Dukwi would return to Namibia on an ‘immediate effect’ basis.
Prior to the meeting there were some reports that the Botswana government might succumb to pressure from rights bodies and activists to stop the repatriation while concerns for the 1,000 Namibians were being addressed.
As previously reported by various publications, the refugees from Namibia’s Caprivi Strip recently lost a Court of Appeal case against their removal from Botswana and deportation to Namibia.
The government of Botswana claims that the court ruling means that the Namibians have lost their refugee status, and that is why they are being forcibly repatriated.
However, the Namibians still maintain that they want to be assured of their safety before they could return home.
Initially there were 3,000 refugees who fled secessionist violence in the Namibia’s Caprivi Strip in 1998, but some have since returned to their home country.
Should the forced repatriation come to pass it would also mean that 30 Namibian learners would not be able to sit for their final examinations. They were forced to withdraw from school more than a week ago in order to prepare for their repatriation.
The 30 learners were reportedly supposed to take their examinations (primary, JC and BGCSE examinations) at various schools in and around Dukwi towards the end of the year. Government has refused to entertain suggestions that the learners should be allowed to write their examinations before being repatriated.
In another development, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) yesterday added its voice to a swelling rank of individuals and organisations that have strongly condemned the forced repatriation of the 1,000 Caprivians.
“We have not taken a crystal-clear position on the issue but we are against any form of violation of human rights. Education is a right. No one should be denied the right to education,” UDC spokesperson, Moeti Mohwasa told The Monitor yesterday.
“We maintain that the government should take well-informed decisions that will mirror the interests of the Caprivi people and other close stakeholders.”
On Wednesday this week, rights group, Ditshwanelo-The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, wrote to the government (Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security) in a bid to convince the latter to stop the repatriation of Namibian learners. Most notably Ditshwanelo wanted the 30 learners to be allowed to write examinations before repatriation.
It is still unclear as to whether the government has responded to the letter. However, in a statement released on Friday, Ditshwanelo said the government never responds to its communication on matters involving the Namibian refugees.
Yesterday, The Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Shaw Kgathi would not reveal the exact date as to when the repatriation exercise would begin. He referred The Monitor to the Friday statement that said the 1,000 Namibians would be deported on an ‘immediate effect’.