About 1.5m Namibians to protest – Amushelelo, Nauyoma
• BY TRACY TAFIRENYIKA AND MICHAEL UUGWANGA
BLACK People Economic Emancipation Association founder, Michael Amushelelo and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma are planning to hold a mass demonstration to address, among other things, taxes for counterfeit goods in Namibia.
The activists told Confidente that the demonstration, which will take place on 25 October in different parts of Namibia, will also highlight youth unemployment .
They said the demonstration will target 1.5million people.
The two activists noted that “in this country, about 1.
2 million people are unemployed while over one hundred thousand graduates are roaming the streets without any means of survival.”
They said people are vigorously seeking alternatives in creating a markets for products, adding that the law should guarantee all persons the right to speak, organise, and protest.
Amushelelo noted, “Our mothers have opened shops and are contributing to the economy. These people have become victims in the application of the law when their goods are burnt down.
”
“Today, we hear that the authorities wish to impose some taxes again.
Their actions demonstrate that foreign nationals seling the exact products as Namibians are more important than our people.
It proves that if one should ever stand up for our struggling people, jail is the answer.”
Amushelelo added that his Association ”will fight for the economic emancipation of the people of Namibia and we locate the struggle for economic emancipation within the long resistance of our people to racist colonial, imperialist, domination.”
He said the association will make presentations across the country to ensure that indigenous black Namibians are empowered with economic knowledge.
Amushelelo and Nauyoma also spoke about how they were detained for 2400 hours.
“During our baseless incarceration, many things have been thrown our way to weaken us. The aim was to break
our fortitude and revolutionary sprit to fight for the poor. They placed us under solitary confinement but we prevailed stronger mentally and physically.
“It should be noted that detention will never be the solution to our social problems and it will not work as a scare tactic.
”
Amushelelo and Nauyoma were arrested earlier this year after they went to China Town where they forced some Chinese businesses to close shop.
The two alleged that the government gives preferential treatment to the Chinese who sell counterfeit goods but are not prosecuted.
Earlier this year, the Namibia Revenue Agency destroyed counterfeit goods worth N$ 5 million which Amushelelo and Nauyoma claimed belonged mostly to previously disadvantaged Namibians.