capital, Windhoek. The letter, forwarded to MISA Namibia by an Informanté journalist states that: “We hold instructions that the nightclub welcomes various people across all communities of Namibia. Our clients instruct us that all journalists at Informanté are a threat to the club in that, by the nature of their duties, they would infringe the privacy of our clients’ customers.” In response, Director of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) Norman Tjombe said: “The restrictions that are placed on the journalists by the nightclub violate a number of human rights, such as the right to freedom to practice one’s profession or trade, freedom of expression and media freedoms, and the freedom of movement. The nightclub, even though privately owned, provides a service to the members of the public on payment of the relevant fees at the entrance, and it will be unfair to single out certain members of the public because of their lawful trade or profession.” He further noted that, the privacy of the nightclub’s customers should be respected and protected, and the restrictions should rather be directed at that, and not have a blanket ban for all journalists from a particular media house. He suggested that there could be a restriction that people should not take photographs inside the night club, for example. • COMMUNIQUÉ Date: October 14, 2008 Person/institutions: State media Violation/issue: Other On October 14, The Namibian newspaper reported that the Minister of Information and Communication Technology was struggling to manage state-owned newspapers and broadcasting stations. The Namibian reported that within the first two months of his reign at the renamed Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Joel Kaapanda witnessed the resignation of the chairman of the New Era Board of Directors, Vilbard Usiku, in June 2008. On October 10, acting chairperson of the board, Katrina Sikeni, also resigned. Both these resignations, The Namibian, established, concern issues around the chief executive officers of New Era and its sister paper, Southern Times. On both occasions, Minister Kaapanda was not happy with the way the boards of New Era and Namzim Newspapers, the holding company of Southern Times, dealt with the appointments of and disciplinary issues concerning the CEOs of the two papers. The Southern Times is jointly owned by the Namibian and Zimbabwe governments. • COMMUNIQUÉ Date: October 31, 2008 Person/institutions: Media/communications Violation/issue: Legislation MISA Namibia acknowledged the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology for taking swift steps to finalise the Communication Bill. MISA Namibia Broadcasting and ICT Research Officer Ngamane Karuaihe-Upi said the process to speed-up the finalisation of the bill by the ministry is a welcome sign of liberalising information technology and the operating mechanisms of the media industry. “The final act of the bill is envisaged to bring about an independent, self-regulating and self-sustaining media council for Namibia,” he also noted. Karuaihe-Upi, however, encouraged key media players to make sure that they acquaint themselves with the final draft of the Communication Bill before it is tabled. At a media briefing at the Ministry Information and Communication Technology on October 30, Minister Joel Kaapanda revealed that his ministry is committed to finalising the draft bill for tabling in Parliament at the beginning of the next parliamentary session in February 2009. • COMMUNIQUÉ Date: November 25, 2008 Person/institutions: National editors/media Violation/issue: Other So This Is Democracy? 2008 -76- Media Institute of Southern Africa