3 April 1990

* Inside: The ·chang.ing face of toe Himba *, 50c (GST Inc.) Mass jail break plot revealed STANLEY KA TZAO A PLOT to stage a riot in Windhoek Central Prison to force the government to extend its amnesty to all prisoners was leaked to The Namibian yesterday. An escapee, Sagarias Goeieman, are involved in the (planned) mass They were both taken to hospital REBEL Baste~·,leader Hans Diergaardt (left) yesterday threw told of an intricate network involv escape" which, he warned, could the day before they made their es out a new challenge to newly-installed Namibian President Sam ing doctors, police, prison wardens "result in bloodshed". cape. Nujoma (right). and a major political party to smuggle Goeieman disclosed that the es The doctor and the prison wardens in weapons to stage a major-break cape plot was the brain-child of the collaborated in the plan. out. opponents of the new government Goeieman, a self-confessed for According to the fugitive, a team including an opposition party and the mer Plan fighter, had completed seven of convicts is hard at work plotting top brass of the prison administra of. a 16-year jail term on several . Rehoboth rebels the first mass escape. Those left bdJind tion. charges of fraud and theft. Hospital would then stage a riot. "The intention is to create prob sources yesterday confirmed Ifwardens interfered with the jail lems in the prison to discredit the Goeieman's escape from Ward 2B. break attempt, the convicts were to new government," he said Meanwhile, Dr Rabie, who is serv, - attack them. The team is also plan- Goeieman said "although we are ing a community service sentence at plan referen~um - ning to smuggle weapons into the proud of the new government we are the prison, said last night he did not prison. The timing of the uprising prompted to accept this offer of the usually ask prisoners what their in was dependent on the'govemment's opposition. What we demand is that tentions were if he referred them to THE battle line between the Namibian govemfnent and rebel Rehoboth reaction to the prisoners' demand. the President revise the amnesty of the hospital, and denied any involve leader Kaptein Hans Diergaardt over the future of the Rehoboth govern If the government failed to re fer," and unconditionally release long ment in the alleged mass escape plot. ment hardened yesterday as the struggle for power took a new tum. spond positively to the demand, the term prisoners. Kooper had served seven months Prime Minister Bage Geingob last night slammed a unilateral decision by convicts said they would execute their The escapee expressed the hope of a five-year jail term for robbery, Diergaardt to go to the polls to try and get popular backing for self plan. that !he revised offer would also affect and Urichob had compl~ two years government in the area as "unconstitutional" and "a clear contempt of Six prisoners have already left prison him:. "I am not free, 1 want to be of a 13-year prison term for theft. court". under unusual circumstances with free, " he told The Namibian. The other three are Johannes Ga- Diergaardt said in a statement earlier yesterday that a referendum would the help of the network. He saidhe was willing to talk to the , roeb, a rapist servinga lO-year term, be held in the Gebiet on May 5 to ' 'test the will of the people ofRehoboth ". When contacted by The Namibian right authorities on certain condi Petrus Simon, who was halfway Diergaardt said it. was alleged by Namibian President Sam Nujoma, the late last night, Home Affairs Minis tions. through a 12-year jail sentence for DTA and others that the disputed Rehoboth government did not have the ter Hifikepunye Pohamba expressed The prisoners wanted to know theft, and Martin Hangula, also serv support of the Baster volk (people). shock and dismay and described the whether the President's amnesty offer ing a six-year term for theft. Diergaardt stated categorically his government was both convinced of its plot as an "unfortunate situation". was final, or not. Urichob was reported to be back at support, and that it was the authoritive government of Rehoboth "accord Goeieman told The Namibian ear Goeieman, Kennedy Kooper and the hospital last night after a catheter ing to the forefatherly laws of 1872". lier they had escaped because they Peter Urichob escaped from Katu he was fitted with gave problems. He In the meantime, the Rehoboth govetnment would" disregard all instruc felt "the way the President granted tura Hospital on Tuesday. The three confirmed the plan as told · by tions upon the validity of its authority as governing body", but would not the amnesty was unfair". feigned illness two weeks ago. Goeieman. be involved in the administration of Rehoboth until the referendum had The amnesty worked in favour of Goeieman complained of kidney Speaking about his escape beenpeld. whites because' 'most of them were problems and was admitted on March Goeieman said, "I just pretended to Another reason for his action, Diergarrdt said, was that "all property and first offenders" , said Goeieman. 17. And Kooper claimed he was suf be sick. The doctor knew about it and indisputable interests are being expropriated and power being usurped by Tempers were running high in the fering from appendicitis and Urichob the prison wardens went alons with the Namibian constitution' , . prison. "More then 100 prisoners of kidney complaints. the story." - In a strongly-worded statement last night, Geingob said: • 'The latest state ment by Captain Diergaardt' s now defunct Volksraad is a clear contempt of court and it is up to the Attorney-General to take the necessary steps provided for under our law." • 'The Prime Minister would like to emphasise that it was publicly stated Cholera outb'reak feared by His Excellency, the President, that Rehoboth is an integral part of Namibia and no attempt to dismember it from Namibia will be enter- NAMIBIAN health authorities are had been treated at hospitals in tained," Geingob's statement said. investigating the possibility of a TYAPPA NAMUTEWAI Owambo for acute stomach prob In his staten-ient yesterday, a defiant Diergaardt said the Rehoboth govern- cholera outbreak in nortbem Namibia At least three people have died after lems. However, he added, doctors ment would" disregard all instructions on the validity of its authority as following reports of at least three claiming acute stomach problems and were still investigating the cause and governing body". deaths and a spate of cases which severe voniitting, a symptom of it was not yet confinned ~ it was Diergaardt added that meanwhile "no moveable (funds) or immoveable could be related to the deadly dis- ,cholera. cholera. Water samples had been aem (land) property of the Rehoboth government may be removed or trans- ease. Sources in Ovambo said it was to the laboratories for testins, he ~t=err=ed=b=y=th=e=N=anu=' b=i=an=g=ov=e=rnm==e=n=t'="============::::!...L-,-:,:An=d..:th:e:"d:;.:e:.::a::th;:,.;.::tollcouldbehigher. impossible to count all the cases as said. many people died before reaching It is believed that people are get hospital. "As a result they are being ting ill after drinking floodwaler which buried before a post mortem can be comes from southern Angola, where :Ti·mes 'got it wrong' done," The Namibian was told. cholera is rife at the moment. Chol Residents who spoke to The era is a water-borne disease. Namibian said up to 20 people a day Sapa reported yesterday that chal HEALTH Minister Dr Nicky Iyambo Among other things, yesterday's were being treated at the Engela era had killed at least 60 people in the yesterday dismissed as "baseless" report inferred Dr Iyambo had been hospital. The majority of patients sou1bem Angolan province ofNamibe various allegatiom in the DTAnews influenced by former Health Secre live along the Namibia-Angolan since the beginning of the year. paper, The Times of Namibia, in a tary Dr Lourens Erasmus to essen border. Sapa quoted Ihe Anso1an slate oewa report on 'misuse of state property' tially tum a blind eye to the "alleged Approached for comm~, the ' agency, Angop, as. saying that 1 200 at the state hospital. misuse of time and facilities" by permanent secretary of the Depart cases of cholera were registered In Dr Iyambo told The Namibian he ' state-employed specialists; and that ment of Health and Welfare, Dr the province that borders Nanu'bia. was "disturbed by this type of re Dr Erasmus "persuaded" Dr Iyambo Solomon Amadhila, said his depart The chief causes. of the epidemic porting" which" seemed to be send to have a second Catscan, when, The ment was aware of the " unknown" were given as llOor sanitary and ga ing a wrong signal to the public that disease in the north. bagedisposal facilities in theprovin I condone the existing status quo". CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Iyambo. He confirmed a number of ~ople cial capital of Namibe. 2 Tuesday April 3 1990 THE NAMIBIAN y----'-_~n " ' 'MASSIVE' YOUR DAlLY GIDDE TO EVENTS WORLD-WIDE RETALIATION MANCHESTER, England - Rioting convicts roamed the scorched CAIRO - President Saddam Hussein's threat on Monday to retaliate massively against any Israeli shell of one of Britain's oldest prisons with police massing outside military action against Iraq raised new tension in the)\tiddle EaSt, Egyptian political analysts said. an<fjail warders reporting seeing a number of corpses within the walls. A Home Office spokesperson said warders at Manchester's But they also warned that Hussein's region.

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