Eino Vatileni


Namibia is a free state, therefore, there is no need for Namibians to flee to the United Kingdom, international relations executive director Penda Naanda says.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Naanda said no one is being persecuted, denied employment or prosecuted for political reasons, and the country does not restrict anybody from travelling.

This comes after the UK home secretary, Suella Braverman, proposed amendments to the immigration rules that seem to revoke the right of citizens of a few nations to travel visa-free.

Naanda said Namibians seeking asylum in the UK have their own reasons for leaving the country.

"Anybody travelling outside the country has freedom of movement, whether inside Namibia or outside. People applying for asylum in other countries have reasons known to them only," he said.

According to Naanda, it is up to the British government to grant asylum on the basis of what is being claimed by those Namibians.

"The British high commissioner in Namibia has on several occasions stated that Namibia is a free country and nobody faces persecution and there is no reason for people to go and apply for asylum in that country," he said.

He said Namibia respects the Constitution and will continue abiding by it.

Naanda said Namibia is in negotiations with the British government to ensure that Namibians in the UK are not affected by the revoked visa-free concession.

"Remember that negotiations are not concluded overnight, but may take time," Naanda said.

He said since the UK brought the issue up in late February, both the ministry and the Namibian mission in the UK will be in negotiations with the British government until the issue is resolved.

"When you start negotiations, you need to do it in the best interest of your nationals and it is exactly what we are doing," he said.

He added that he does not see the move by the UK as an attack on Namibians, as every country has the right to make decisions as it deems fit.

"We also have a visa regime in place where certain countries are exempted from visas," Naanda stated.

Naanda added that they have put visa requirements as a sovereign state, just as the British have the right to make their changes.

"What we do in our international relations as a ministry is to negotiate with other countries how best we can address issues affecting our nationals," he said.

DEPORTATION

Naanda said the British government has indicated that it will deport several people since they were denied asylum.

"As far as I am concerned, if there are Namibians to be deported, we have to verify whether they are truly Namibians," Naanda said.

'NO COMMENT ON THEM'

Asked to comment why Namibians left the country to seek for asylum, Naanda said he does not know why they left to seek asylum when Namibia is a free state.

"If I knew the reasons why they left to go and seek asylum, I would be able to address them. All I can say is that we are a free country," he added.

'ABUSING VISA-FREE TRAVEL'

On Tuesday, a London-based media house, Open Democracy, reported that Braverman claimed that nationals of Namibia, Dominica, Honduras, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu are 'abusing' visa-free travel.

Passport holders from these nations are allowed to stay in the UK for six months.

However, Braverman has already removed this privilege, claiming that among non-visa nationalities, asylum petitions from Namibians and Hondurans come in top.

According to the report, Namibians submitted 935 asylum applications in the year ending in March, up from 214 the previous year, while Hondurans submitted 919 applications, an increase from 417.

Additionally, according to data from the home office, 149 Namibian asylum applications were turned down last year and Hondurans' applications were turned down just 70 times.

BACKGROUND

Last week, The Namibian reported that British high commissioner Charles Moore announced that all Namibian nationals will need a visa before travelling to the UK, including to visit, with immediate effect.

Moore said, since 2016, there has been a sustained and significant increase in the number of UK asylum applications from Namibian nationals at the UK border.

According to Moore, this constitutes an abuse of the provision to visit the UK for a limited period as a non-visa national.

At the beginning of this year, more than 90% of Namibian asylum seekers were facing deportation in the UK, with the two governments collaborating to find ways to facilitate the process.

'DISRESPECT'

Last week, home affairs minister Albert Kawana lashed out at European countries for "harassing" Africans who travel there.

Kawana suggested that this ties in with the disrespectful manner in which Africans are being treated by European countries - even when they travel on diplomatic missions.

"In the world of diplomacy, the underlying principle is that of reciprocity. That's a very important principle. I'm sure you know what happened to the delegation of president Cyril Ramaphosa," Kawana said.

Kawana said, "Our people are harassed even with diplomatic passports when they go to a number of those countries for diplomatic reasons. I don't want to mention them."