Rupiah accused of role in disappearance of Namibian freedom fighters in 70s
By Chansa Kabwela
Fri 25 June 2010, 04:02 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has been accused of having played a crucial role in the disappearance of several Namibian freedom fighters between 1976 and 1978 when he served as Zambia’s foreign minister.
According to the statement by Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) executive director Phil ya Nangoloh, President Banda should help the organization to establish the fate or whereabouts of the freedom fighters who disappeared without a trace on Zambian soil.
Nangoloh stated that the Zambian security forces, presumably acting on instructions of then South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) president Sam Nujoma, rounded the freedom fighters after they were accused of being radicals or rebels.
“At the time of their disappearances, President Rupiah Banda was Zambia’s foreign minister and, as such, he played a crucial role in such disappearances as well as in the hostile acts against the PLAN fighters in Zambia,” Nangoloh stated on Tuesday.
“They include the following:
Aikota, Abel (Ondangwa—Oshikoto Region),
Haimbodi, John (Edudja—Ohangwena Region),
Hakaye, Barry (Oniipa—Oshikoto Region),
Halleluja, (Ohangwena Region),
Hamupembe, Jackson (Etomba—Ohangwena Region),
Haupindi Gabriel (Onheleiwa—Ohangwena Region),
Ilya, Leonard Shilongo (Eengolo—Omusati Region),
Ipumbu, Israel Mashuna “Shimbungu” (Ogongo—Omusati Region),
Kadhila, John (Okaku—Oshikoto Region),
Kaukungwa, Tuyeni (Walvis Bay—Erongo Region),
Komeya and Ananias (Omusati egion).”
Others are
Markus, Longinus Omusati region,
Mundjego, Elifas Oshipanda—Oshikoto region,
Mwiiyale Jerry Omusati region,
Nakaambo Gottlieb Onayena—Oshikoto region
Namashana Ontokolo-Oshikulufitu—Omusati region and
Ndinoshiho Jason Omundjalala—Omusati region.
The other freedom fighters are
Nghiyolwa Jonas Okaku-Ongenga—Ohangwena region,
Shafombabi Timo Walvis Bay Ongenga—Ohangwena region,
Shanghala Nestor Ontokolo—Omusati region,
Shikolomwenyo Omakango—Oshikoto region,
Shikudule Andreas Okalongo-Oneheke—Omusati region,
Shimwaafweni Junias Walvis Bay—Erongo region,
Paapopi Valombola Ohamuti—Omusati region and
Toromba Joel Vikurupa Aminius—Omaheke region.
Nangoloh stated that the disappeared persons were part of hundreds of Namibians who fled apartheid South African oppression in Namibia between 1974 and 1975 and joined SWAPO then as a liberation movement based in Zambia.
He stated that they disappeared under mysterious circumstances after they vehemently opposed the Détente Scenario, also known as An Approach to Peaceful Change in Southern Africa among then South African prime minister John Vorster, SWAPO and the Zambian government.
“The détente affair also led to SWAPO’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), being expelled from their bases in south western Zambia,” stated Nangoloh.
The statement was issued ahead of President Banda’s three-day visit to that country.
President Banda is expected to return to Zambia today.
The NSHR is a national private, independent, non-profit making and non-partisan human rights monitoring and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1989 by concerned citizens and it envisages a world free of human rights violations and aims to stop such acts in Namibia and the rest of the world.
Labels: FREEDOM FIGHTERS, NAMIBIA, PLAN (NAMIBIA), RUPIAH BANDA, SWAPO
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Wina praises late Mudenda
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Wednesday, November 05, 2008 5:53:49 AM
VETERAN politician Sikota Wina has said it is very rare to find people of the late Elijah Mudenda's calibre in Zambia. And veteran politician Dingiswayo Banda has described the late Mudenda as a devoted and committed leader of the nation. Commenting on the death of Mudenda, 81, Wina said Mudenda was one of the true heroes of Zambia’s independence.
"At the time of the first elections in 1962, one of the biggest arguments of the Europeans in the country was that we had no educated people to run a modern state. So the central committee under the chairmanship of Dr Kenneth Kaunda decided to make a shortlist of graduates in the country who could be approached for them to join UNIP and participate in the first elections," he said. "Mr Elijah Mudenda was on the list and I was mandated by the central committee to go and make a presentation to him to leave the position he had as head of Mount Makulu Africa Research Station and he was the only African at that place."
Wina explained that it was an honour for him and he went to see Mudenda.
He said he [Wina] did not meet any resistance and Mudenda was very willing to participate in the liberation of the country.
"He resigned indefinitely and came to join UNIP. We had a workshop where we drafted the first UNIP manifesto at Lilanda in Lusaka and Mr Mudenda contributed very heavily in the field of agriculture. He was the father of Zambia's agriculture policies. At independence, he became the first minister of agriculture," he said.
Wina said he had memories of people like Mudenda.
"It is a pity he has left us because people of his calibre were very rare in this country. People who were prepared to sacrifice all they had for the sake of the country. He shall be mourned by all of us who were there with him," said Wina.
And Banda said Mudenda was one of the few graduates the country had at independence.
He said Mudenda contributed volumes to the independence of the country.
"Everyone must mourn this great man. He was one of the founders of this nation, extremely devoted and committed leader of the nation," said Banda.
Mudenda passed away in the late afternoon of Sunday after being hospitalised for close to three weeks at Mina Care Clinic in Roma.
Mudenda would be put to rest tomorrow at his farm in Lusaka's New Kasama residential area.
The government has since declared Thursday a day of national mourning in honour of the late Mudenda.
Labels: ELIJAH MUDENDA, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, SIKOTA WINA
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Elijah Mudenda dies
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Tuesday, November 04, 2008 4:28:40 PM
VETERAN politician Grey Zulu yesterday said he has lost a friend and brother in the late freedom fighter Elijah Mudenda. Speaking after he visited the funeral house in New Kasama, Zulu said Mudenda, who died on Sunday, was a great man, true parent and brother of all Zambians. "He loved them [Zambians] and he served his country honestly and loyally. He was a great man, an honest man, once he tells you something that he will help, you can count on him," he said.
Zulu said Mudenda, 81, was one of the great pillars who helped to liberate and build the nation. "It is a pity that we all die in the end, if it were possible to save someone for some time, Mudenda was the right person to live a longer time so that he could serve the people longer. But we have no control over that, the Almighty God knows what is best for each and every one of us. I personally can say that I have lost a friend and a brother with whom we shared all problems," he said.
Zulu said he and Mudenda on several occasions toured the country together.
"He was a minister of agriculture and as a minister of defence, we worked together as a prime minister, he was a great person, a loving person," said Zulu.
And family spokesperson Daniel Munkombwe said Mudenda died in the late afternoon of Sunday.
Munkombwe, who is also Southern Province minister, explained that Mudenda had been in hospital for close to three weeks at Mina Care Clinic in Roma.
He said burial was likely to take place on Thursday at his farm in Lusaka. Munkombwe described the late Mudenda as a great man having been everything in life and the first black agriculture minister. Munkombwe said Mudenda was a role model both in public and private life. And the Cuban Embassy described the late Mudenda as a man who committed himself to the cause of the people.
"The Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Zambia on behalf of its staff and the Cuban people, wants to express its deepest sorrow and heartfelt condolences for the death of the comrade Elijah Haatukali Kaiba Mudenda," Cuban Charge d' Affairs Turcios Miguel Esquivel Lopez said. Lopez said the Cuban Embassy had a lot of respect for Mudenda as a freedom fighter and as a person.
"For his struggle on the defence on his ideas, as an example of a human being he committed himself with the cause of his people. He had the pleasure to serve his country holding various portfolios, at the Parliament, in government and in UNIP. Everywhere we went we could appreciate how Zambian people loved him, admired him and respected him," Lopez said, "As Cubans, we always counted on him. He clearly understood our struggle and expressed publicly his support for the Cuban Revolution. This is the reason why we feel so proud of having him as the Patron of the Zambia-Cuba Friendship Association for several years."
Lopez said even when they knew that his health was not well, he attended all the activities in solidarity with Cuba organized by the Association, The Post, and some friends of Cuba, as an example that he was a man of a very strong will. He said he was sure that the Zambian people would remember him as one of its greatest heroes.
"Today, on this painful moment, we extend to his wife and other relatives, and the Zambian people our heartfelt condolences," said Lopez. And mines minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa said this was a sad loss. Dr Mwansa said during the struggle for independence, Mudenda broke the myth that most people in the struggle were not professionals.
"Despite what the civil service could have given him had he chosen to work as a civil servant, he decided to join the freedom struggle. We will miss his humility despite the highest level he reached in politics, the education he had, he still remained humble, accommodating and broad minded person," he said.
Dr Mwansa said Mudenda was an example of what it meant to serve humanity with humility. Mudenda is survived by a wife, four children - Jene, Nana, Chilumbi and Tozana Mvula - and several grandchildren.
Labels: ELIJAH MUDENDA, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, GREY ZULU
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Be practical about your promises, presidential hopefuls told
October 23, 2008
A freedom fighter in Mufumbwe District in Northwestern Province has challenged the opposition political parties who were claiming that they would increase salaries and create jobs within three years to show what method they would use.
Mr. James Katemisha said in Mufumbwe that political leaders should tell people the truth because increasing salaries for workers does not just come like dreams but through the treasury.
Mr. Katemisha questioned those who were promising people that many people would be in employment, where the jobs are going to come from adding that even in London where there are many industries many professionals were still roaming the streets
Mr. Katemisha has since advised electorates to vote for MMD and Rupiah Banda a person who has proved capable to drive the nation to prosperity.
Mr. Katemisha a former UNIP member mentioned that some political parties have nothing to offer because they have not identified themselves with any meaningful program as most of them have already been lined up by the MMD.
He observed that some political leaders who have personal to holder parties have no developmental issues to talk about and as a result they have resorted to insults only.
Mr. Katemisha urged all political parties to work for prosperous Zambia in which the citizens would live in harmony and become more committed to work for the development of the country.
Mr. Katemisha explained that leaders must stop practicing politics of hatred or castigating one another but to move forward.
Mr. Katemisha said Political parties should unite and love one another although they could have different political inclinations but should agree where necessary and work together for the good of the country.
ENDS/CK/PK/ZANIS.
Labels: ELECTIONS, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, JAMES KATEMISHA
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The plight of freedom fighters
By Editor
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]
WE don’t think that the Zambian people would oppose any initiative by the government to ameliorate the sufferings of people who struggled for the independence of their country. We have no doubt that our people will not oppose any expenditure by the government toward the welfare of freedom fighters because they are a sensitive and grateful people. Our people know how to honour the sacrifices of those who stand up to advance their rights and defend their dignity, our people recognise those who serve them.
The problem is definitely not with our people but with some politicians of today who were not part of the independence struggle but participated in the campaign for the return to multiparty politics. These appear to be seeking the re-writing of history. They want to put themselves at the same level as those who fought for our independence; they want to see themselves as freedom fighters also. Yes, they are freedom fighters and truly, no one can deny them that label. But they are freedom fighters of a different sort, of a lesser category. And these are not the freedom fighters we are talking about or our people are concerned about.
Our people are concerned about the freedom fighters who fought for independence of our country. Before history, people who act as these freedom fighters did, people who do and give everything for the cause of the independence of their country from foreign subjugation or domination, grow in stature with each passing day and find a deeper place in the heart of the people each passing day.
And we shouldn’t forget the fact that most of these freedom fighters we are talking about today are not young men and women. They are senior citizens in their 60s, 70s and 80s - and probably a few beyond. These are also men and women who after serving this country for more than 27 years in government were sent away without any benefits. These were fulltime politicians, fulltime revolutionaries who dedicated their lives to nothing but service to Zambia.
These are the men and women Sikota Wina is talking about. And Sikota is not asking all these things for himself because he is one of the few lucky freedom fighters who happened to marry a businesswoman and as a result escaped poverty and destitution. There is no doubt that Sikota, who abandoned everything in his life - further studies, professional careers and so on and so forth - to pursue only one mission, that of fighting for the independence of this country and consolidating it, would be destitute today if it wasn’t for his hard-working, intelligent and industrious wife.
It’s immoral to expect these honourable freedom fighters to be seeking favours from the government and others and make them look as if they initiated or joined the struggle for personal benefits.
These freedom fighters did not initiate or join the struggle to fulfil personal ambitions; their struggle was not for personal glory or fame, for material possessions. They thought of nothing but duty and service, with the most absolute purity and with the most complete selflessness. They did not join the struggle for history; they did not struggle for honours or glory. Revolutionaries - of which all these freedom fighters are - do not struggle for honour or glory, or to occupy a place in history or to be given material benefits or pensions for doing so. But we owe them everything Sikota is asking for.
And moreover, a society that does not value older people denies its roots and endangers its future.
The Zambia which we are today enjoying, the Zambia which we proudly claim to have struggled to return to multiparty politics and one under which these old freedom fighters are living in poverty and destitution is the sweet fruit of their lives of struggle, sacrifice and selflessness. They fought a noble battle and lived their lives in pursuit of a better life for all of us, for all who follow.
Looking back, we believe that these old freedom fighters worked with sufficient integrity and dedication not only to win independence for us but also to consolidate it. Unlike our return to multiparty freedom fighters who shared all the government houses and businesses among themselves upon coming to power, these freedom fighters left empty-handed, with absolutely nothing other than their honour and integrity.
Clearly, these old freedom fighters struggled to defend no other interest, no other cause other than the cause of the exploited and oppressed people of our country and of our continent.
And the exemplary manner and the selflessness with which they defended that cause cannot be disputed even by their most bitter enemies.
Therefore, fairness dictates that they be given that which is due to them, that which they worked for. Most of them were denied their benefits from their selfless service in government. Let’s give it to them. It’s their money, they worked for it. And in doing so we are not doing them a favour, it’s simply a question of giving to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.
Trying to re-write Zambian history will not help matters much. It is interesting to see how the civics and social studies of this country have been re-written for our children in an attempt to over-elevate the political status of those who championed the return to multiparty political dispensation. This is not good and it’s worse if it is used to deny others their dues.
We have to do something as a nation to reduce the suffering of these old freedom fighters. And the government should initiate the move.
Labels: FREEDOM FIGHTERS
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Freedom fighters have been neglected - Sikota
By Bivan Saluseki
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]
VETERAN politician Sikota Wina yesterday said Zambia’s freedom fighters have been neglected. Wina said it was unfortunate that Zambia had failed to address the issue of freedom fighters despite the country having been among the early pioneers of freedom.
Last Thursday, the public service committee of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) failed to agree on whether freedom fighters should be paid benefits for their role in the liberation struggle.
Committee chairman Likolo Ndalamei ruled that the matter of benefits for freedom fighters could not be addressed by the Constitution but political leaders.
However, Wina said most people in the country were deeply disappointed by the ‘cavalier’ manner with which the public service committee of the NCC avoided the question of benefits for former freedom fighters for their role in the liberation struggle, leaving it to surviving individual freedom to organise themselves and lobby the country’s political leadership.
“It’s unfortunate that this country which paid a heavy price for the liberation of surrounding countries has failed to emulate the manner in which these countries have handled the issue of benefits for their freedom fighters.
They did not leave this to ‘individual freedom fighters who are alive to negotiate for their benefits’ but their Parliament passed legislation for those who had sacrificed for their countries to be free and even erected cenotaphs in their memory, while in Zambia ministers announce with pride the progress being made in the construction of mansions for former presidents and other general benefits,” Wina said. “Zambians have forgotten that in every province of this country, there can still be found men and women who, but for their courage and sacrifice, this country could not have been liberated.”
Wina said freedom fighters were suffering without any help in sight.
“These men and women now face desperate struggle for survival and too old to fend for themselves or their offspring,” he said.
Wina said with a budget running into hundreds of millions of kwacha, NCC could have afforded to carry out a detailed study of how other countries had handled that matter and arrived at a satisfactory solution.
“It is an insult to these men and women without whose sacrifice some of those sitting on the NCC would not have enjoyed benefits of free education which made them what they are today in society,” Wina said. “While President Mwanawasa can be commended in the manner he has honoured many of these freedom fighters including myself, it’s obvious that most of them are emaciated and demoralised by years of neglect.”
Wina said it was a duty of all those on the NCC to ensure that the matter was reviewed and looked at much more deeply.
“It is only in this manner that the country will take the NCC seriously instead of viewing it as a money-making machine for a few. Some people like honey without knowing how that honey was made,” said Wina.
Labels: FREEDOM FIGHTERS, SAKWIBA SIKOTA
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