Struggle kids turn more violent

Another violent confrontation occurred between the so-called struggle kids and the Namibian Special Reserve Force outside the Swapo headquarters in Windhoek on Tuesday afternoon.
If reports are anything to go by, the struggle kids have become increasingly more hostile over the last couple of months, blocking the B1 road between Okahandja and Windhoek, hurling stones at civilian vehicles, and clashing violently with the police on more than one occasion this year.
Rumour has it that many of the group members are not “children of the liberation struggle”, but unemployed Namibian youth who joining the protest in an attempt to cash in on any possible benefits.
Tuesday’s incident saw the struggle kids pushing back police officers by throwing stones at them while group members sang struggle songs and shouted the names of their hometowns and villages.
This confrontation followed a recent violent altercation on the B1 highway just north of Windhoek, where the struggle kids blockaded the road and started a veld fire near the Swapo plot where they are living.
Social media erupted with criticism of the struggle kids and their actions on Tuesday afternoon after Namibian Sun posted an article about an eviction order served on the struggle kids through Swapo lawyers Conradie and Damaseb.
One Facebook user asked in a comment on the online story: “Why are the police using rubber bullets, instead of live ammunition?” Another commented: “No one killed? The police officers are not serious with shooting.”
Public opinion seems to be turning against the struggle kids and their demands, with social commentators, politicians, academics and the general public increasingly taking the side of those frustrated with the struggle kids’ actions.
Veteran politician Nahas Angula condemned the violent acts of the struggle kids, saying that “there are ways to protest and seek resolve without resorting to violence”.
Nico Horn, a constitutional law lecturer at Unam, said he believes that the government has an obligation to help the struggle kids, but that was made more difficult by the fact that there is no way to verify their credentials.
“The veterans were registered and therefore the government can tell how many veterans they are dealing with, how much it will cost to assist them, and more importantly; who they are.”
Horn said the government was dealing with the struggle kids on an ad hoc basis, and that contributed to the growing violence.
“We can’t say that they are not frustrated with good reason, as much as their acts are not excusable. There needs to be targeted interventions that will help the government identify the men and women that really are struggle kids.
“Until then, we won’t know who is really causing trouble: the struggle kids, or a posse of unemployed young people that have decided to join the movement for their own gain,” Horn explained.
Horn said as far as he was concerned, the struggle kids have lost the sympathy of the Namibian people, which isn’t going to make the plight of the group any easier.
“A legal framework needs to be created to make sure that the struggle kids are given the support that they need, whether it’s education, documentation, training in the vocational sector, or pocket money,” Horn advised.
Nahas Angula told Namibian Sun that this group of struggle kids were not those that he had worked with in the past. “I don’t know this group; my group have all found jobs and are happy. This is another group that I don’t know where they come from and what they want,” he said.
The government offered the group free vocational training, with spending money, free food and accommodation. They rejected this offer and refuse to leave the plot at Brakwater.
KEITH VRIES