... Reporter forced to delete mausoleum footage
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has denied restricting the media during founding president Sam Nujoma's funeral at Heroes' Acre in Windhoek on Saturday - but journalists disagree.
Some reporters and photographers say the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) only allowed Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reporters and personnel from the information ministry and Office of the President near Nujoma's mausoleum.
Excluded journalists say they were stationed at a distance from Nujoma's burial site and had no view of the inside of the burial chamber.
Executive director of information and communication technology Audrin Mathe yesterday denied that the media was restricted.
"There were no restrictions on media coverage, whether private or public," he said.
He said these concerns were addressed with the NDF, which also denied any restriction.
"I went to the media area myself, where I observed journalists from various outlets, including Network Media Hub (NMH) and One Africa, operating freely," Mathe said.
The executive director said it was unfortunate that one journalist's personal grievance is being used to overshadow the goodwill and transparency evident on Saturday.
NMH reporter Augetto Graig yesterday said the NDF forced him to delete any footage of the inside of Nujoma's mausoleum.
"Much earlier, before proceedings started, I took the opportunity to film inside the mausoleum, but the army forced me to delete the footage," he said yesterday.
He said he was not allowed to move during the funeral procession and when the casket was brought up to the mausoleum.
Graig hoped his colleague, Iréne-Mari van der Walt, would get a shot of the mausoleum, but she was barred from the area too, he said. "By blocking her, they sabotaged our whole effort to be cooperative and still get the footage," he said.
One Africa reporter Envaalde Matheus yesterday confirmed the imposed restrictions.
He said it is unfair of the government to be selective about the presence of the media at the gravesite - especially since all media houses were invited to the event.
"I think it would be unfair to say we are only allowing the national broadcaster when certain people trust certain media houses," he said.
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Matheus said he, however, accepted the decision after seeing how media practitioners were pushing each other out of the way to secure space.
"Everyone was fighting for space somewhere.
So I think to avoid chaos, they said we are allowing only certain people," he said. At least 650 media practitioners were accredited to attend the funeral.
CONDEMNED
Editors' Forum of Namibia secretary general Selma Ikela on Saturday said restrictions to private media favouring the NBC hinder free and pluralistic media coverage.
"All media should be granted the same reporting privileges," she said.
Namibia Media Professionals Union acting secretary general Jemima Beukes on Saturday said: "This is becoming a disturbing norm - we saw it during Geingob's tenure, and now it's evident at Nujoma's funeral," she said.
Beukes said it is time to prioritise transparency and accountability over controlling the narrative.
