On the very day parliament passed the third Amendment of the Namibian Constitution, police fired on a demonstrating crowd, killing Frieda Ndatipo, a young mother of three.
As one commenter puts it:"The needless killing of this young woman in front of Swapo HQ is tragic and also highly symbolic of the real state of affairs. It marks the bloody end of an era of hope and the beginning of a new phase of struggle in which Swapo will no longer be the automatically regarded as 'the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people', but as a dangerous agency prepared to shoot down unarmed women. The death of this protester on 27 August 2014 will mark a turning-point in the political orientation of the youth and in their struggle for equal rights."
Now I am asking: is ALLOWING the use of live ammunition against demonstrators in a country that A) forbids executions(Art.6) and B)expressly allows peaceful political activities(Art.17) not a contradiction in itself? Especially when acknowledging that people can panic in certain situations?
Of course the SWAPO government immediately puts the blame on someone else once again, claiming a third force being involved in this shooting and their supporters of course start parroting Hage Geingob's words.
Seeing that Namibia has no independent institution to investigate this incident, it will just be swept under the carpet like so many other incidents.
As one commenter puts it:"The needless killing of this young woman in front of Swapo HQ is tragic and also highly symbolic of the real state of affairs. It marks the bloody end of an era of hope and the beginning of a new phase of struggle in which Swapo will no longer be the automatically regarded as 'the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people', but as a dangerous agency prepared to shoot down unarmed women. The death of this protester on 27 August 2014 will mark a turning-point in the political orientation of the youth and in their struggle for equal rights."
Now I am asking: is ALLOWING the use of live ammunition against demonstrators in a country that A) forbids executions(Art.6) and B)expressly allows peaceful political activities(Art.17) not a contradiction in itself? Especially when acknowledging that people can panic in certain situations?
Of course the SWAPO government immediately puts the blame on someone else once again, claiming a third force being involved in this shooting and their supporters of course start parroting Hage Geingob's words.
Seeing that Namibia has no independent institution to investigate this incident, it will just be swept under the carpet like so many other incidents.
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