N$36m SWATF, Koevoet claim hits dead end
The ombudsman says no evidence has been provided to support a renewed N$36-million compensation claim by former South West Africa Territory Force (SWATF) and Koevoet members.
The group launched a fresh bid to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs in severance and retrenchment payouts last week.
Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha says the members visited his office upon his appointment in 2021, seeking assistance in claiming their packages and to be given recognition as war veterans.
“There must be documentary proof for us to take up this issue with the two governments. So we asked them to revisit our offices with the documentation that verifies their claim,” he says.
Dyakugha says since the request for documentary proof the group has, however, not returned.
“We have not seen or heard from them again. When we followed-up with them they said they heard our request and are consulting with members,” the ombudsman says.
He says the case is similar to one in South Africa, in which the South African parliamentary committee on defence and military veterans argued that former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members do not qualify as liberation war veterans and are, therefore, not entitled to certain benefits, including a pension.
“The rationale behind this argument is that these individuals were already compensated for their service within the SANDF, and their service was not directly related to the liberation struggle against apartheid.
“Where in Namibia, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan) fought without salaries or benefits and couldn’t build up a pension for themselves,” Dyakugha says.
On Saturday, in an open letter written by the Namibia Democratic Alliance (NDA) to president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, NDA leader Johannes Linus said they are disturbed by reports that a retrenchment package of N$36 million, earmarked specifically for SWATF and Koevoet veterans, was allegedly misappropriated by the government after independence.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Office of the President were not successful by the time of going to print
The affected group is demanding the immediate restitution and payment of N$36 million with interest to the “rightful” beneficiaries.
They are also demanding formal recognition of former SWATF and Koevoet members as war veterans with the same rights and dignity as other Namibian citizens.
He says they also want an independent investigation into how the money was spent and by whom.
‘CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION’
Linus says the money was not a gift, but a contractual obligation as part of the demobilisation and reintegration process agreed on during the transition to independence, backed by international frameworks.
“These veterans, regardless of political affiliation, served under legitimate command structures during a time of conflict. They were promised compensation upon demobilisation. Yet for over three decades, they have lived in poverty, labelled as enemies in their own homeland, while the benefits due to them were stolen, misused, or simply vanished without explanation,” he says.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Plan fighters’ statue at Omugulugwombashe in the Omusati region in 2014, former president Hifikepunye Pohamba said the former colonial government soldiers were free to benefit from the country’s old-age pension, but not from the benefits the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs is distributing to former Plan fighters.
“I am asked to give veteran status to the [SWATF/Koevoet]. I will not give veteran status . . . They talk about national reconciliation, but national reconciliation has its borders. If you go beyond the borders you are opening up wounds.
“We will not deny them the pension as accorded to old-age citizens, but they will not be given this money that is administered by [veterans affairs minister] Nickey Iyambo,” Pohamba said.
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