Defence Minister Joe Modise has a lot on his plate. So let us help him get his priorities straight. Let him release immediately the Military Intelligence files on Anton Lubowski to prove their claim that the assassinated Namibian advocate was indeed an informer.
The mystery surrounding the slain advocate and senior Swapo member has gone on too long.
The evidence points to a dirty tricks operation by Military Intelligence, a sleazy cover-up that Modise is allowing to continue.
Our investigation into new evidence pointing towards a cover-up has been met with an alarming retreat by defence force brass into total onslaught-style obfuscation and deviousness.
MI would have us believe its claims on the flimsiest of evidence produced by Magnus Malan during the shabbiest days of military deceit, evidence that is simply riddled with holes. It may have been good enough for Judge Louis Harms, but for the rest of South Africa, it frankly stinks.
Doubtless there are many in the force who would prefer to have the Lubowski affair buried deep in the vaults for eternity. But the ghost refuses to be laid to rest.
Why is Modise protecting MI? By allowing this subterfuge to continue, by keeping from the public eye vital information that could lead finally to the truth about the Lubowski assassination, the minister is playing a dangerous game.
He is also ensuring that the new defence force continues to be haunted by the ghosts of the past.
Lubowski was a senior official in Swapo, Modise’s comrades-in-arms.
Does he not owe it to his allies in Namibia to reveal what is known about Lubowski’s death? Why, one must also ask, is Swapo not pushing harder for this to happen?