Lubowski murder arrest plea
By Anel Powell
A Namibian businessperson who claims he has evidence proving that Civil Co-operation Bureau members were involved in the 1989 assassination of anti-apartheid activist Anton Lubowski is seeking the arrest of the men involved.
Charles Courtney-Clarke said he can prove that the CCB monitored Lubowski and had a motive to kill him. He claimed some police officers committed perjury by lying during the inquest into Lubowski’s death.
“In this case, perjury charges are to be brought against the police who attended the inquest. They were monitoring Lubowski during the Untag period and can therefore tell who shot Lubowski.” (Untag, the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, was deployed in Namibia in 1989.)
Courtney-Clarke has met lawyers to press for an investigation into why the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been dragging its heels in prosecuting those involved.
The NPA said earlier in 2008 that the Lubowski murder case could be reopened after repeated requests from his widow Gabrielle to bring his killers to book.
NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said: “Mrs Lubowski made representations to the NPA to have her husband’s case re-investigated. The NPA has a task team which reviews all Truth and Reconciliation Commission matters, and her case will be considered according to this structure’s policies.
“There is no specific, special team to look into her case. Her representations are presently under consideration, and the NPA will advise her accordingly of the action decided upon.”
Courtney-Clarke said Johan van der Merwe, who was arrested in 2007 over the attempted poisoning of Reverend Frank Chikane, should be interrogated to find out more about Lubowski’s murder.