Shanghala says red line removal impacts his Omaheke farming

Former justice minister Sacky Shanghala has expressed conflict over testifying in a High Court case regarding the removal of the veterinary cordon fence, saying the removal would have direct implications for his farming operations in the Omaheke Region.

Shanghala, in submissions made to the High Court, says he is also conflicted because he is a member of the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU), one of the parties opposed to the fence’s removal.

The former attorney general, writing from the Windhoek Correctional Facility where he is awaiting trial in the Fishrot case, is asking the court to set aside a subpoena compelling him to testify in the case brought by activist Job Amupanda, seeking the removal of the veterinary fence, popularly known as the red line.

The subpoena requires Shanghala and vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to testify in the Windhoek High Court trial, which runs until 31 January.

Amupanda wants the red line declared unconstitutional, arguing it discriminates against certain groups and lacks legal justification.

Shanghala contends that the case has direct implications for his farming operations south of the veterinary cordon fence.

“From my understanding of the litigation before the court and the matter that requires determination, those matters are pertinently germane to the operations of my farming interests in the area south of the veterinary corridor fence,” he notes in court papers.

Summoned in his capacity as a former chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission and minister of justice, Shanghala argues his testimony would not aid the court’s administration of justice.

"Although my membership has lapsed, I am a member of the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU) and intend to resume farming activities and NAU membership upon my release. The perspective I might bring to any testimony in this matter would not objectively assist the court,” he says.



'Political ladder'

Shanghala insists his prior roles have no bearing on the current litigation.

“The subpoena names my former positions, yet these were succeeded by others better placed to provide relevant testimony or documents,” he states in court documents, referring to current justice minister Yvonne Dausab and current law reform chairperson Josua Etuna.

He further alleges that the subpoena amounts to harassment. “Amupanda has a history of harassing me alongside his Affirmative Repositioning (AR) group. This subpoena is nothing more than an attempt to use me as a political ladder while I remain a trial-awaiting detainee of five years,” Shanghala argues.

Shanghala’s application follows that of Nandi-Ndaitwah, who also filed an urgent High Court application to set aside her subpoena. She contends she had no involvement in the veterinary cordon fence issue during her tenure as minister of international relations and cooperation. Her court papers argue that the subpoena constitutes an abuse of the legal process.



Report under the spotlight

In 2021, a 2014 government-commissioned report suggested that the complete removal of the veterinary cordon fence would benefit the country. The report highlighted that northern communal farmers, owning over 1.6 million cattle, 700 000 goats and 430 000 sheep, could access lucrative markets if the fence were removed. It also projected an increase in agriculture’s contribution to the GDP from less than 6% to approximately 20%.

However, stakeholders like the Meat Board of Namibia have long argued that removing the red line could devastate the meat industry by disrupting regional and international markets, collapsing the beef industry and causing massive job losses.

Last year, Amupanda circulated extracts of the report, which detail the pros and cons of removing the red line. He accused the government of duplicating efforts by commissioning a new feasibility study despite the existence of the earlier report. “The government’s phased approach to lifting the red line’s restrictions includes conducting a study over the next two years. This is unnecessary and costly repetition,” he argued.

Amupanda said the 2014 report, which cost millions and involved extensive consultations, already provides the answers. “How does the Cabinet announce a feasibility study when they have a comprehensive report sitting on their desks? This is an insult to Namibians,” he said at a press conference in Windhoek last year.

Cabinet’s phased plan aims to establish disease-free zones in areas like Mangetti, Karikubis, Tsumkwe and Sesfontein.

“The government’s actions suggest either incompetence or deliberate stalling. Namibians deserve better,” Amupanda stressed.

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