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WINDHOEK. – Namibian President Hage Geingob has warned politicians and the general public to guard against using issues of national concern for political gain, saying the trend will divide the country and lead to civil war.

President Geingob made these remarks at the opening of the Swapo central committee meeting held on Saturday at Rundu in the Kavango East region, before the commemoration of Heroes Day the following day at Nkurenkuru.

President Geingob said he has observed that several “failed and frustrated politicians” were using real issues affecting Namibians, such as the Nama/Herero genocide, the issue of ancestral land, and many others to “whip up the emotions of the people who suffered genocide, who lost land”, for their own political gains.

The President added that this trend could have serious consequences, such as dividing the nation, and ultimately leading to a civil war.

“Let’s have the spirit of ‘our’, not ‘they’, and ‘we are the ones who lost’, or ‘we are the ones who fought’. That is the spirit which I see developing, and if we don’t address it, it is going to put us in what other countries have gone through. Civil war starts like that,” he said.

The Namibian was informed that at the event, President Geingob also spoke out against ancestral land claims, and the proposal to expropriate land without compensation.

Namibia is set to hold a “national land conference” from October 1-5, for discussion of policies that will accelerate the land reform programme.

“I believe that we should have difficult conversations, as Namibians, with the aim of finding peaceful and sustainable solutions to the challenges of inequality, landlessness and outstanding pains of genocide,” AFP quoted President Geingob as saying.

“If we don’t correct the wrongs of the past through appropriate policies and actions, our peace will not be sustainable,” the president warned.

Despite stating that the second national land conference in October this year would discuss ways to accelerate the land reform programme, sources said the President stated that he does not support ancestral land claims.

Geingob, according to sources, reminded party leaders that the issue of ancestral land was being used by people who wanted to take advantage of the emotive topic.

The Namibian understands that there were some ruling party leaders who wanted the issue of ancestral land and expropriation of land without compensation to be discussed, but the issues were not deliberated on in depth.

Some leaders felt that a discussion would have allowed the party to take a stance on the issues before the land conference in two months’ time.

President Geingob also urged politicians and the public at large to guard against tribalism and issues that would fuel divisions.

He said people should rather try to solve their problems in a peaceful manner to avoid conflict with each other, and that tribalism was a “recipe for disaster”.

“Let me caution you, fellow Namibians, not to look back at the darkness of the past. We should look forward, towards the path of peace, healing and national reconciliation. We should not stoke the fires of tribalism and division to remain relevant.

“We should not lose sight of the reasons for which so many Namibians sacrificed their lives. It was about unity, liberty and justice,” President Geingob said, adding that “all of us should become nation-builders”.

The debate came as neighbouring South Africa was considering plans to allow for expropriating farms without compensating the owners, largely the white minority which possesses 72 percent of farms.

President Geingob, who was the country’s first prime minister, was one of the drafters of the Namibian constitution which protected property rights of people who owned land prior to independence.

He is however facing increasing pressure to return ancestral lands to the rightful owners. – The Namibian/News24/HR