Vilho crosses Rubicon

Dear Editor,

THE Minister of Defence, Rear-Admiral Peter Vilho, has led Namibia over the Corruption Rubicon and like the march of the famed Roman general, Julius Caesar, there is no turning back.
The political weaponising of allegations of corruption and self-enrichment in the NDF and August26 the past two years are now more exposed as a dangerous weapon that will miss the heart of corruption and shoot efforts of institutions and the few good men and women committed to continuous improved service delivery through the head.
For all the mistakes that the Minister of Defence, Rear-Admiral Peter Vilho, could have made in his lifetime and career in the military and in politics, his exit is that of an exemplary servant, an officer and a gentleman.
However, his greatest service to the Namibian citizens and the Constitution is his demand for a forensic audit in order for his name to be cleared.
Admiral Vilho reminds all Namibians of their most sacred individual rights and guarantees that Namibia is governed by the Rule of Law and that all citizens are innocent and have a right to defend themselves until found guilty by a competent court of law.

And the judiciary has maintained its reputation of independence.

For that alone, he deserves to be respected and saluted.
The fact that he resigned to his Commander in Chief, Dr. Hage Geingob, who is also the protector of the constitutional rights of every Namibian, even to those that abuse it, proves that adversity fortunes the brave.
It proves that a louder Namibian inner voice, that instinctively reacts on right or wrong, does exist and is always louder than social media that shout matches of insult and injury.
Namibians must not only welcome the rare good examples of self-sacrifice for the common good and public trust but must use every opportunity to cut through the political abuse of corruption and put the axe to the root of the devastating disease eating away at the reputation of a great nation and robs Namibia with opportunities they so richly deserve because they have sacrificed and endured so much. Rear-Admiral Peter Vilho has left the political battlefield scarred, wounded and bruised, but he can hold his head high as a warrior who committed the greatest act of bravery by asking for an investigation into himself, the Ministry of Defence and the August26 Group of Companies, knowing the risk.
There are not many Namibians of any standing that will ask for an investigation into their pasts.

An investigation might just reveal the uncomfortable truth that politicians are captured by long-serving officials in government, state-owned enterprises and institutions that are acting like an outfit of organised crime and hold politicians hostage by division of powers.

The resignation of Rear-Admiral Vilho set a standard of moral bravery that politicians of all sides should take notice of as an example of sacrifice of the highest order. To die on a battlefield is much easier than to survive and live with a reputation murdered.

The decision of Peter Vilho reminds Namibians that they are all still innocent until proven guilty and therefore he deserves the chance to prove his innocence because he already proved that he can take the punishment if found guilty.
That is a mark of a Namibian and shows that good examples will always rise from a failure of systems.

Chris Jacobie