The Namibian government has officially called on the owner and editor of a local weekly newspaper, Windhoek Observer, to stop publishing letters with hate messages directed at former president Sam Nujoma.
In a written statement, Information and Broadcasting Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah condemned the hate letters and said editor Hannes Smith, a veteran Namibian journalist whom she accused of writing some of the letters, should stop publishing them.
The letters have accused Nujoma of having sowed division in the ruling Swapo party and in the country. In one such letter which incensed the government, the author had vowed to "piss (urinate) on Nujoma's grave".
"Mr Smith, can you stop writing those letters and if it is true that you are not the author of those hate letters, you should stop publishing them. It is highly disappointing and unacceptable for Mr Smith to keep on abusing the Namibian constitution," Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
The Namibian government had also asked Smith to apologise for publishing the letters. However, Smith said he would not apologise and would continue to publish letters from his newspaper's readers.
"I will die before giving an apology," he said.
Several Swapo parliamentarians this week also called for action against the Windhoek Observer.
Swapo MP Bartholomeus Shangheta told the National Council Smith should not be allowed to continue demonising Nujoma. "Hannes Smit, don't play with us. Please do not disturb peace," he said.
National Council deputy chairperson and Swapo MP Margaret Mensah-Williams said: "We will not tolerate such selfish, unscrupulous elements who want to destroy the image of our leader God has given us."
Another parliamentarian, Johny Hakaye, called on Swapo members, supporters and sympathisers to challenge the newspaper to name the authors of the letters severely criticising Nujoma.
Hakaye said the Windhoek Observer had created an open war against the very foundation of Namibian society.
He said if people in the ruling party were feeding the newspaper "classified subversive information", they too had declared themselves persona non grata in the ranks of Swapo.
