Katjavivi threatens to chuck ‘spying journalist’ from Parliament

WINDHOEK, 21 SEP – Journalists who use sophisticated equipment to spy on politicians during parliamentary sessions by zeroing into their mobile devices will soon be barred from entering the National Assembly (NA) chambers, its Speaker Peter Katjavivi said.
Katjavivi made the announcement in the NA on Thursday after several Members of Parliament (MP) complained that they were being spied on.
Katjavivi issued a stern warning to journalists that the “unprofessional” tendency of zooming into mobile gadgets of MPs to view their private content was unacceptable.
“Such unprofessional individuals will not be permitted to cover Parliament. It is as simple as such. Because you are basically indulging in unprofessional activities when you zoom in on a particular Member of Parliament to check what he’s got on his tablet,” Katjavivi charged.
He said such practices are not allowed anywhere in the world, and it has never been done in Namibia before.
Katjavivi told reporters what “an honour” it is to be a Parliament correspondent.
“To carry that title, it is an honour. It makes you professional and a very informed journalist. But if you are going to undermine that yourself by indulging in those activities, we will help you by dealing with you in a manner that basically excludes you from being part of us,” he said before MPs applauded him.
Approached shortly after the announcement, Katjavivi could not point out the parliamentary rules or regulations that are breached if a journalist takes pictures during Parliament sessions.
However, the Speaker described the situation as “unbecoming”.
Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare Minister Zephania Kameeta was one of the MPs that complained to him a few days ago that certain journalists were spying on him.
“I said certain reporters. We know them. We will deal with them. We will deal with them, using the rules,” he said.
When put to the Speaker that the media reported of a certain MP who was caught on camera browsing a dating site on a mobile device during a Parliament session, he refuted this.
Katjavivi said self-respecting MPs would not play games or be on dating sites during sessions.
“Those (being on a dating site) are things that are totally out of bound. No respectable person in the house will be engaging in things like that. If you have evidence that has been done, it is for you to prove to me and then we will take appropriate action,” Katjavivi stated.  – NAMPA