An independent broadcaster, One Africa Television Camera Operator, Sylvester Simubali was banned by State Security Officials from filming a state visit to Namibia by the Cuban President Raul Castro at Hosea Kutako International Airport on 19 July 2009. Producer Luke Salomo told MISA that the pictures in possession of the station evidently proves that tOur Camera man was banned from filming one state visit of Cuban visiting president to Namibia, the pictures are evidence, complained Salomo. In a letter addressed to the Editor of One Africa Television on 22 July 2009, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana confirmed the incident and affirmed that preferential treatment is always given to state media during state visits and national events. He claimed it is a normal international practice, which can not be changed.
While it is not true that protocol only allowed the state media to collect footage on the arrival of the Cuban Head of State, It is true that the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) as national broadcaster subsidized by the state, receives preferential treatment during states and national events. This is a normal international practice, which we cannot change, said Au-Ndjarakana.
MISA Position
Although the Namibian government regards it a norm to give preferential treatment to state media, MISA would like to state that all media houses are vehicles for information dissemination and should be treated without disparity. Unless otherwise the action might have been aimed at pushing a one sided view of the visit, which in this regard is unwarranted and an infringement on media rights to access and disseminate information. MISA calls on the Namibian government to respect and treat all bona fide media houses equally and offer equal access to all media for the coverage of national events. By their nature national events are of interest to all citizens whether they are state or private media, hence the need to remove all restrictions on their coverage. MISA is confident that Namibian journalists both from the state and independent media pose no security threat to our leadership or visiting dignitaries. The government should instead see the wider coverage of such events as beneficial to the Namibian people.