As expected Air Vice Marshall Martin Pinehas has been promoted to Air Marshall and appointed as the Chief of Defence Force. Lt John Mutwa has been on sick leave since probably June last year, if not earlier than that and is turning sixty (retirement age) in September this year. AVM Pinehas has been standing in for him since then. This is also the first time a non Army officer has been appointed CDF in the Namibian military.
Of the the current service chiefs he was the most senior two star (after Rear Admiral Vilho was appointed as the Executive Director of the Ministry of Defence and later appointed as Minister of Defence
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JUST IN: President Hage Geingob has appointed Air Vice Marshal Martin Kambulu Pinehas as Chief of the Namibian Defence Force starting 1 April. Pinehas replaces Lieutenant General John Mutwa.
In his new role, Pinehas is mandated to make provision for a balanced structuring of the NDF and to make suitable appointments of members under his command within prescribed laws, policies, rules and procedures, to cause charges of indiscipline among members of the Force to be investigated and prosecuted, and to ensure that public resources under his care are efficiently managed and accounted for, among many other duties.
https://www.facebook.com/www.confidente.com.naSaluting the CiC
The new CDF is flanked to his right by Air Comodore P Kamanya (likely the next Air Force Commander if hes still in active service), Major General J. Namhindo the Joint OPS chief and to his left by Brigadier General F Maiba the Defence Advisor to the President and another one star i cant ID.
Sporting his new three stars and stripes
https://www.facebook.com/MODNamibiaOn a slightly negative note, the period in which he's been acting he's been accused of being autocratic and breaking protocol in last years election period here
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Security bosses divided over post-election military deployment
MATHIAS HAUFIKU and TILENI MONGUDHI
POLICE, military, and intelligence bosses were divided over a decision by acting chief of defence Martin Pinehas to deploy soldiers on Namibian streets in the name of national security.
The Namibian understands that Pinehas' attempt to impress president Hage Geingob for his possible promotion also played a key role in his declaring that the country's security alertness was at its highest level after the elections last month.
Pinehas announced on 2 December that the defence force elevated the country's security alertness to its highest level, and necessary measures are in place to protect national key points and citizens. This followed threats of unspecified action on social media platforms before the national elections.
Sources said Pinehas broke protocol, and involved the army in internal security affairs while there was no threat to the country's national security.
It is alleged that he acted unilaterally, and his actions caused chaos and confusion within the country's security cluster.
The security cluster consists of officials from the ministries of home affairs; justice; international relations; the Namibian Police; the Namibian Defence Force (NDF); the Namibian Central Intelligence Service (NCIS); and correctional services.
The Namibian has learned that apart from the fact that Pinehas does not have powers to deploy soldiers into the streets, he also failed to follow the right procedures before making his decision.
Security sources insisted that the security threat, which prompted Pinehas to act, was allegedly either imaginary at worst, or exaggerated at best.
“It was based on a frivolous assessment,” said a source familiar with the matter.
The Namibian also understands that police inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga was invited to attend and co-address Pinehas' media briefing, but declined the invitation.
Ndeitunga allegedly snubbed the invitation on grounds that he was not kept in the loop, as well as the fact that his principal, safety and security minister Charles Namoloh, was not briefed at Cabinet level about the said security threat.
Ndeitunga declined to comment when approached for comment last week, saying he was busy with electoral matters at the time of Pinehas' statement.
He referred The Namibian to the defence ministry.
DIVIDED OPINION
A retired military officer told The Namibian that when a security threat to the country is detected, it is dealt with at three different levels before it is made public or forces the security cluster to act on it.
The first level is the intelligence coordination committee, which is occupied by mid-level and senior officers from the police intelligence apparatus, military intelligence, and the Namibian Central Intelligence Service.
These officers share information on what they discover in their operations. Once this committee is satisfied that the potential threat requires attention or action, it is then forwarded to the national joint intelligence committee.
This is a committee comprising service chiefs, mainly the police, defence, correctional services and intelligence chiefs.
https://www.namibian.com.na/86573/read/ ... deployment