Day: August 9, 2023

These were the first concentration camps in human history,’ says Laidlaw Peringanda, an activist and a representative of the Herero people, a clan that was subjected to the genocide of 1904. Four times a year, Laidlaw takes care of a large cemetery of victims of the German genocide in Namibia. Though Namibia has long gained independence, the indigenous population is still yearning for justice. For centuries under German colonial rule, native groups were used for slave labor and had their lands confiscated. Almost three-quarters of Herero and one-third of Nama people were killed, which was internationally recognized as a genocide. Can Namibians find a way to heal centuries-long emotional scars?

Source: Russia Today

Dundee Precious Metals on Monday handed over 41 mattresses to the Katima Mulilo Urban Constituency, to be distributed to schools.

The mattresses which are valued at N.dollars 50 000 were procured after the constituency sought assistance early this year from the mining company.

Dundee Community Development Coordinator Christalin Mushongo at the handover said her company strives to live its core value of developing communities, even going beyond their region of operation in Oshikoto, and despite challenges they will assist wherever possible.

Katima Urban Constituency Councillor Kennedy Simasiku said receiving the donation was a relief considering the winter conditions the learners are facing. The 41 mattresses are divided among Caprivi Senior Secondary School and Kizito College which fall under Katima Urban.

Simasiku added that as a stakeholder in education, he and his office could not sit and solely rely on the government to provide essential services, but complement it with the little they can.

Caprivi Senior Secondary School hostel superintendent, Vincent Sinyepe said he was filled with joy over the kind gesture by both Dundee and the constituency. The hostel superintendent acknowledged that the school has been buying small, thin mattresses which are of low quality just to accommodate every learner in the hostel.

Sinyepe said to encourage the learners to do better in their education, the mattresses will be given first to the best performing learners in the hostel.

Meanwhile, Sinyepe also registered his concern with the local business community, which he said has not been responding positively to the needs of the children.

“The learners are yours, ours, and you need to come on board whenever assistance is sought as part of your corporate social responsibility,” he pointed out.

Source: NAMPA

Governor of the Oshikoto Region, Penda Ya Ndakolo has requested the youth to show up in big numbers for the commemoration of Heroes’ Day.

Ya Ndakolo in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday here, said the youth must come and meet the president and his delegation on 26 August 2023, at Omuthiya in Oshikoto.

“The public should assist each other with transport, even though there will be public transport,” said Ya Ndakolo, noting that this is the second time the town is hosting the event as it hosted it the first time in 2012, with very low youth attendance.

“The day 26 August occupies a special place in our hearts and the history of our nation as we remember and pay tribute to our dear heroes and heroines who paid their supreme sacrifice for the liberation of our motherland, so we want at least a good number for this event,” he said.

Preparations for the event are well underway, he said.

Source: NAMPA

A 16-year-old boy was arrested in the Omusati Region for allegedly stabbing to death a 19-year-old man with a kitchen knife on Tuesday.

Namibian Police Force Omusati crime investigations coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Moses Simaho on Wednesday said the incident occurred around 19h30 at Onangolo (Onawa) village in the Anamulenge Constituency.

Simaho said the two were playing at the time of the fatal stabbing.

“It is alleged that an argument arose between the two while they were playing and the younger boy stabbed the older one with a kitchen knife,” he said.

The 19-year-old, who was identified as Thomas Johannes, died upon arrival at the Outapi hospital.

Police investigations into the matter continue.

Source: NAMPA

The Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia (NamBTS) will on Saturday host an event in Windhoek that brings together automotive and bike enthusiasts alongside community-minded individuals in a collective mission to save lives through blood donation.

The ‘Engine Bleed: The Ultimate Blood Drive’ will take place at Grove Mall.

NamBTS Supervisor for Marketing and Donor Relations, Titus Shivute in an interview with Nampa explained that while the organisation routinely organises blood donation drives at various corporate, educational, industrial, and retail locations across the country, this particular initiative was conceived to engage a specific demographic.

“Many of these bikers, motor clubs, and dealerships in and around Windhoek are mostly available on weekends. We want to ensure that every Namibian has an opportunity to contribute, hence we are extending this chance to them to demonstrate their support for the cause of blood donation,” Shivute said.

He described the blood drive as a rallying cry for those who are passionate about both adventure and making a positive impact.

“This blood donation extravaganza vows to infuse a fresh wave of excitement into the act of giving back to the community, channelling the solidarity-driven spirit of motor and biker clubs,” he said.

He further clarified that the drive is open to all Namibians and is not limited to car dealers and members of car clubs.

Source: NAMPA

A lack of financial policies has left the Namibia Football Association (NFA) with no alternative but to await its members’ decision on alleged financial mismanagement by its Khomas Football Region (KFR) executive committee.

Football clubs plying their trade in the KFR Second Division are up in arms with their leadership whom they accuse of not paying their start-up capital for the just-ended 2022/23 season.

The NFA paid an amount of N.dollars 208 000 to the KFR for its administrative costs and the N.dollars 19 200 annual allowance KFR should dispense to its clubs. On the first payment at the start of the season, the 16 clubs were supposed to receive 50 per cent start-up capital which was calculated at N.dollars 9 600 for the running of its day-to-day activities.

To date that start-up capital has not been received by any of the football clubs in that division, which forced members to approach the NFA for assistance, accusing its league director David Goagoseb and chairperson Peter Ndjulu of misusing funds intended for clubs for their personal use.

In a letter dated 02 August 2023 seen by this agency, the NFA in response advised the KFR to hold an extraordinary annual congress to resolve its matters as it did not want to intervene.

A club owner in the KFR who chose to remain anonymous told this agency club owners have approached the football association to provide them with bank statements for money that was transferred to the KRF account so they could open a criminal case against their leadership, but that call has fallen on deaf ears.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, NFA secretary general Jochen Traut said they are aware of the situation but as NFA, they cannot interfere.

“We set up meetings with the Khomas leadership twice, but those meetings did not happen as they never turned up and told us it was short notice. As an association we cannot answer to members as they have a leadership in place, hence the reason we advised them to have an extraordinary annual general meeting – which has not taken place yet,” he said.

Traut added that the financial mismanagement stories were widely reported by the different second-division leagues last season, but that will be a story of the past.

“Khomas and other regions complained of not receiving their start-up capital, but I can confidently tell you that despite the Khomas teams not receiving their initial start-up capital, we paid their remaining 50 per cent directly to the clubs’ accounts. We are still waiting for the Khomas leadership to give us their financial report,” he said, adding that the association has no policies in place that would sanction them to punish those misusing funds, but NFA is currently working on putting policies in place that will prevent this from reoccurring.

Approached for comment, Goagoseb told this agency that he was not able to answer any questions and directed this reporter to get responses from the NFA, while Ndjulu’s phone went unanswered.

Source: NAMPA

The Windhoek Female Correctional Facility’s cake baking project for inmates is making progress despite facing challenges.

The project was initiated by officers from the correctional facility in 2019. This year’s training started in April.

Speaking at the graduation event on Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner Julia Nauvinga said the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) wants to train as many inmates as possible through this project, as it is deemed a constructive activity that not only helps inmates gain skills that can assist them in finding employment or starting a small business of their own upon release, but also keeps the inmates from being idle in their living unit.

“The project is not regarded as a formal vocational trade as of yet, but it is something the NCS is aspiring to do. We are hoping that soon the project will transition into an official vocational skill whereby our inmates will receive the necessary formal training and subsequent qualification,” Nauvinga said.

Celeste Mertens, who trained the inmates, said they were dedicated, as they were always engaged in discussions and asked questions.

NCS Public Relations Officer Salmi Hangula told Nampa the first phase of the project has been completed, resulting in the graduation; but the second phase is dependent on funding.

She explained that cake baking is just one of the activities inmates engage in as they also do gardening and needlework.

The cake baking project is however limited by a lack of resources, such as qualified instructors, baking ingredients, utensils and equipment, and can as a result only accommodate a small number of inmates at a time.

Source: NAMPA