US denies granting asylum to 15 Namibians

The United States on Monday denied reports in the Namibian press that it had agreed to grant refuge to the 15 Namibians who were recently granted political asylum by the Botswana Government.

Kelly Keiderling, spokesperson for the US embassy in Gaborone told IRIN on Monday the US had not made any decision on the question of granting asylum. She said media reports were inaccurate and any application for asylum in the US would have to go through the proper channels.

On Monday the ‘Namibian’ reported the US was “agreeable to providing refuge” to the 15 Namibians. The 15 fled the Caprivi Strip after they were accused of supporting a secessionist movement.

Keiderling said UNHCR had approached a number of countries including the US about the fate of the 15. She added UNHCR would have to approach the US’s Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) representative in Nairobi who would then take up the case and follow it through the correct procedures in Washington.

A UNHCR official told IRIN that after granting asylum to the 15, the Botswanan government then approached UNHCR to resettle the group in another country or countries because Botswana did not want to further strain its relationship with Namibia.

Namibia and Botswana are currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, concerning a territorial dispute over the boundary and the legal status of the Kasikili/Sedudu Island in the Caprivi Strip.