Namibia dismisses media report

WINDHOEK. - Namibia on Tuesday refuted allegations from a Botswana online newspaper about it being among three countries that sabotaged Botswana’s quest for the top job at the African Union Commission.

Namibia’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) said in a statement that an article under the headline “28th AU Summit: SADC sabotages Venson-Moitoi” published on January 31 by the online newspaper ‘‘Mmegionline”, alleged that “sources in Addis Ababa said suspicions were swirling around South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia as being among possible saboteurs.”

The ministry said it has called upon the newspaper editor to retract these fabrications against Namibia.

“As the custodian of Namibia’s foreign policy, we refute the above misrepresentation by the Mmegionline, which published an article based on suspicions and hearsay, depicting a lack of professionalism and proper research,” said Marbeline Goagoses, Deputy Director of Information Research in the Ministry of Inter- national Relations and Cooperation.

Goagoses said that following the endorsement by SADC in March 2016, of Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as SADC’s candidate for the position of Chairperson of the AU Commission, Namibia was one of the first countries to publicly declare its support for Venson-Moitoi.

According to her, Namibia and other SADC Member States supported Venson-Moitoi, which enabled her to get to the third round, after the candidates from Senegal and Equatorial Guinea fell out, respectively.

“Although Venson-Moitoi’s campaign did not win her the victory, the support from SADC Member States was a sure demonstration of the unity and bond in the SADC family,” she said.

Meanwhi le, Goagoses said, Namibia is a country, governed by the rule of law and principles that guide its foreign policy, including at the SADC level.

“This is evident through its respect and implementation of relevant SADC Decisions on a broad range of issues,” she added.