Namibia However only weeks later, Tweya was said to have stated that he will no longer make comments on media regulation and the possibility of punishment of journalists, the Windhoek Observer reported on 15 September 2016. According to the article, this was in reaction to a press briefing President Geingob held during which he “warned his ministers”, explaining that it is not government policy to control the media. There was a hope that in 2017 verbal attacks issued against the media by the Geingob administration would cease, but unfortunately they did not. This, despite the fact that the president was keynote speaker at the official 2017 World Press Freedom Day commemoration, where he, on behalf of government, recommitted to protecting and supporting media freedom. At the occasion, President Geingob also launched the Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN) revised Code of Ethics. During a SWAPO Party star rally in March, Geingob reportedly directed criticism towards the media and civil society, accusing them of making concerted efforts to paint a picture of a government unable to uphold democracy and freedom in the country, reported The Namibian on 13 March 2017. The president further criticised journalists aged between 40 and 50 for wanting to be “guardians of freedom” while at the same time these “kingpins” had not been involved in the country’s liberation struggle. Taking another swipe at civil society during the rally, Geingob is quoted in the Namibian Sun to have said that “they are failed politicians who want to come [in] from the back door now. Civil society wants to come in; why do we have elections then?” Free expression advocates were in a conundrum in terms of how to address the current situation where political leaders used public meetings, attended by ordinary citizens, to attack the media and civil society. Not only did this contradict government policy, but it created mistrust of the two sectors that are critical for the democracy project. Free expression advocates were in a conundrum in terms of how to address the current situation where political leaders used public meetings, attended by ordinary citizens, to attack the media and civil society. It further entrenched an existing culture of fear of victimisation among citizens, in particular those working in the public sector. If teachers or administrators want to express themselves on governance, politics and Namibian society in general, they should be able to do so without fearing backlash or name-calling from the president and his team. Rights to free expression should not exist on pa- So This is Democracy? 2017 79