About 50 people protested in Windhoek on Wednesday in solidarity with Namibia Economic Freedom Fighter member, Michael Amushelelo.
Amushelelo was arrested in March on allegations that he violated a court order that prevented him from protesting against youth unemployment. He was arrested alongside Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Inna Hengari and social activist Dimbulukweni Nauyoma on 21 March 2023. Hengari and Nauyoma have since been released on bail of N.dollars 5 000 each.
On Wednesday, protestors marched from Katutura Shoprite to Zoo Park in the Central Business District with a petition addressed to the Office of the Judiciary.
Amushelelo and his sympathisers insist that he and his co-accused did not protest, but were merely informing the crowd about the High Court’s order that prevented them from protesting on 21 March.
“We emphasise the crucial need for the judiciary to demonstrate its independence from external political influences. The erosion of trust in the judicial system among the youth is currently a matter of deep concern. The suppression of voices and the fear of political involvement due to potential repercussions cast a shadow on the principles of democracy that our nation upholds,” the petition reads.
Amushelelo addressed the protesters via a phone call. His wife, Julieta Amushelelo, also joined the crowd.
“We must have young Amushelelos rising up in every part of the country so that it becomes a point where prisons are filled with people fighting for justice, and a righteous cause. Remember, we are not fighting for anything other than what was the promise of our forebearers, and that is basically prosperity and a harmonious country that we are all supposed to live in. Unfortunately, the country has become a police state,” Amushelelo told protesters.
The Judiciary’s Executive Director Bernard Kukuri received the petition.
Source: NAMPA