{"id":16954,"date":"2022-04-15T14:29:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T14:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation"},"modified":"2022-04-15T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T14:42:00","slug":"ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation","title":{"rendered":"Ndeitunga mum over \u2018illegal\u2019 exhumation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Albertina Nakale<\/b><\/p>\n

Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga has refused to comment on why he allegedly allowed a group of former combatants of the People\u2019s Liberation Army of Namibia to exhume the remains of nine ex-PLAN fighters at Enghadja laShikongeni village in the Ohangwena region earlier this month without a court order, as required by law.<\/p>\n

The group of war veterans, which include businessman Banda Shilimela and president of the Namibia National Liberation Veterans Association Ben Shikongo, were yesterday castigated in a statement by the Ministry of Defence and Veterans\u2019 Affairs for carrying out the illegal act.<\/p>\n

Veterans\u2019 affairs spokesperson Edson Haufiku said such action is a violation of the law and an infringement on the roles and responsibilities of the ministry, as provided for in section 3 of the Veterans Act (Act No. 2 of 2008), as amended.<\/p>\n

It mandates the Ministry of Defence and Veterans\u2019 Affairs to ensure that the history of the liberation struggle is preserved and kept alive for present and future generations.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, clause 2 (b) of Section 2 of the same Act obliges the ministry to preserve \u201canything which has any historical links with the national liberation struggle\u201d.<\/p>\n

The ministry cited that any person acting in contravention of the provisions of the Burial Ordinance Act No. 27 of 1966 shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.<\/p>\n

Although the Act stipulates that a person can be fined N$100, Haufiku explained such an amount is no longer applicable to today\u2019s situation since the law was passed in 1966. Therefore, he said the fine will be determined by the courts.<\/p>\n

The ministry insisted that as the enforcing arm of the laws of the country, the police must ensure that the law is adhered to, and take appropriate measures to address any violation of the country\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n

The exhumation happened where nine PLAN fighters died in a battle against the apartheid forces at Enghadja laShikongeni village on 2 April 1989. However, the group is adamant that they were granted permission to go ahead with the exhumation by Ndeitunga, who also directed police presence at the exhumation of the remains.<\/p>\n

Shilimela, who was part of the battle on that fateful day, feels there is nothing they did wrong, except a good deed of conferring a dignified burial to their \u2018comrades\u2019 who died in combat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank God that he gave me something. So, I spend N$120 000 to erect a tombstone.<\/p>\n

The ministry was supposed to be happy with what we did. The family members of these human remains are very happy about what we did. Those unmarked graves have been neglected for the past 33 years since the battle.<\/p>\n

My heart bleeds to see those unmarked graves of our comrades that we were together in a battle,\u201d Shilimela reacted. Ndeitunga yesterday refused to comment on the issue, saying \u201cI already answered on that issue.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to waste time,\u201d he said before hanging up the phone. Ohangwena governor Walde Ndevashiya confirmed knowledge of the issue, saying the group sought guidance from his office on how to go about the process.<\/p>\n

He said he advised them to approach the police since it was a sensitive matter involving human remains, as his office has no mandate to deal with such issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group came to my office in 2021, seeking advice on what to do in the exhumation of the remains. I told them it is not within my mandate. I channelled the letter to Ndeitunga.<\/p>\n

After some time, the letter came back, detailing procedures to follow in the exhumation of the remains. We forwarded the letter as it is to them,\u201d he narrated.<\/p>\n

Contacted for comment yesterday, judiciary spokesperson Selma Mwaetako said the current law only authorises a magistrate to grant exhumation orders in the event that the body is needed for a forensic examination and the extraction of DNA samples for criminal cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf exhumation is done for the purpose of reburial, permission is obtained from the local authority council or village council in whose area of jurisdiction the gravesites are.<\/p>\n

Therefore, no application was brought before a magistrate. They do not have jurisdiction to grant orders for exhumation which is done with the aim of reburying the body,\u201d Mwaetako clarified.<\/p>\n

Haufiku said it is the government\u2019s commitment to accord the martyrs of the national liberation struggle dignified interment at national shrines, or as deemed appropriate.<\/p>\n

The battle at Enghadja laShikongeni took place after a ceasefire was already signed between the two warring forces under the United Nations Resolution 435, which paved the way for the independence of Namibia on 21 March 1990.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. Albertina Nakale Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga has refused to comment on why he allegedly allowed a group of former combatants of the People\u2019s Liberation Army of Namibia to exhume the remains of nine ex-PLAN fighters at Enghadja laShikongeni village in the Ohangwena region earlier this month without a court order, as required […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":16953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12,16],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-16954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nNdeitunga mum over \u2018illegal\u2019 exhumation - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Albertina Nakale Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga has refused to comment on why he allegedly allowed a group of ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ndeitunga mum over \u2018illegal\u2019 exhumation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Albertina Nakale Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga has refused to comment on why he allegedly allowed a group of ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-15T14:29:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-15T14:42:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/04\/postQueueImg_7-6259842328f57.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"557\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ndeitunga mum over \u2018illegal\u2019 exhumation\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-15T14:29:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-15T14:42:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/04\/postQueueImg_7-6259842328f57.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/ndeitunga-mum-over-illegal-exhumation\",\"name\":\"Ndeitunga mum over \u2018illegal\u2019 exhumation - 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