Sorry!
2020-06-03
Government has apologised to Namibian journalists for the incident at the inauguration of the COVID-19 Isolation Facility on June 3, 2020. Find the statement below:
ATTENTION: All Media
Subject: Apology to journalists for incident at the inauguration of the COVID-19 Isolation Facility
Dear Media Colleagues,
The Presidency herewith acknowledges the incident that occurred today, Wednesday, 03 June 2020 where members of the media were prevented from entering the Isolation Fa-cility during inauguration by the President. The action taken to restrict media was to com-ply with social distancing regulations as a means to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The incident happened as result of miscommunication between the Presidency Media Team and the Ministry of Health and Social Services and is highly regrettable. The RSVP list was a precautionary measure in light of the health regulations under the State of Emergency and subsequent actions of the security officials were not of ill intent or delib-erate, but simply enforcing compliance to regulations.
We would like to re-assure the media that the Presidency values the important role of the media in a healthy democracy and will continue to ensure media freedom as guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia. The Presidency media team extends its most sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by this incident.
For more enquiries, contact: Ms. Sharonice Busch at Sharonice.Busch@op.gov.na Mobile Number +264811636731 and Dennis Shikwambi at dshikwambi@op.gov.na Mobile Number +264812563526.
* Find the NMT's statement on the June 3 incident here: