Four Namibian fishermen killed by Botswana soldiers

Four Namibian fishermen were allegedly killed by members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) on Thursday.

Three are believed to be brothers, and the fourth is said to be their cousin.

Namibia’s Inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga says family members informed the police that they went fishing at local Chobe river and never returned.

Police officers closeby allegedly heard shots in the area between 20h00 and 21h00 on Thursday.

Ndeitunga says when the Namibian Defence Force asked the BDF about this, they confirmed having shot and killed four men who were allegedly illegally fishing close to Kasika village near Kasane.

The report however did not confirm whether the deceased were the four missing Namibians.

The BDF told Ndeitunga the case was handed over to the Botswana police.

Ndeitunga said he instructed the police commander for the Zambezi region, Marius Katamila, to liaise with the Botswana police on developments.

The missing men (aged between 35 and 48) are believed to be from the Impalila village in the Kabbe North constituency.

George Nchino, a brother of three of the missing men, says they are still waiting for further instructions from the police.

Over the past two decades, the BDF has killed many Namibians and 22 Zimbabwean nationals under their ‘shoot to kill’ policy.

National Democratic Party (NDP) leader Martin Lukato, who is based in the Zambezi region, asked the nation on social media to protest against this “barbaric action”.

“Our people are being shot dead by BDF . . . And our government and that of Botswana are quiet about this matter. Print media are also quiet. They don’t care, they see nothing wrong,” Lukato said.

A group of concerned people from the Zambezi region living in other parts of Namibia has created a WhatApp group in the hope of attracting international attention to Botswana’s reaction to foreign nationals along its northern borders.