FRANCIS XOAGUB, Namibia | Monday 9.30pm.
THE Namibian Defence Force on Monday dismissed weekend reports that a consignment of artillery from South Africa destined for its Grootfontein army base is actually in transit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A Namibian weekly newspaper reported on Saturday that TransNamib trucks hauling lowbeds with G-2 artillery pieces of 140mm calibre were spotted some 53km south of Otjiwarongo on Thursday.
Defence Force spokesperson Vincent Mwange on Monday confirmed the latest consignment of weapons has arrived in Grootfontein, but denied they were meant for the DRC. Grootfontein has been the main base from which troops and materiel have been shipped by air to the DRC.
He said the weapons are part of a donation to Namibia from the South African National Defence Force in terms of an agreement signed between the defence ministries of the two countries in 1997.
“There is nothing sinister about the said weapons. I can tell you that the weapons have no bearing on the situation in the DRC. It is only unfortunate that the dispatch of the latest consignment coincided with the situation in the DRC,” he stressed.
The weekly also reported that the South African government has suspended with immediate effect the consignment of all military equipment to Namibia. Mwange said he was not aware of the suspension.
When contacted for clarity on the suspension issue, South African Military Attache to Namibia, Colonel Johan van Rooyen, could not confirm the reports.
He said, however, he is aware that the South African Parliamentary National Conventional Weapons Committee recently discussed and reviewed the arms shipment to Namibia.