Deportation orders were served on two prominent churchmen in Namibia on 27 November – exactly a week before polling was due to begin. Father H. Klein-Hitpass of the Roman-Hitpass church and Mr. Justin Ellis, an Anglican, were given three days to leave the territory. (BBC 29.11.78)
Mr. Ellis, a South African citizen, had worked in Namibia for the Anglican church since 1972, initially as a teacher at a mission school in the north and latterly as the acting Director of the Christian Centre in Windhoek. He had been involved in investigating torture allegations and is the co-author of "Torture – A Cancer in our Society." (See FOCUS 15 p.16) The Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Congregational and Methodist churches in Namibia, which together set up the ecumenical Christian Centre, represent about two-thirds of the territory's population.
On arrival in London, Mr. Ellis said that his expulsion amounted to a deliberate attempt by the South African government, acting with the SWA Administrator-General, to suppress the churches' role viz-a-vis the elections. The church had been endeavouring to inform people of their right not to vote if they so wished, as well as their right to vote, in the face of official intimidation. The Christian Centre had also been investigating the methods employed by the authorities in ensuring that allegedly over 92% of the territory's population were registered to vote. Just before Mr. Ellis's deportation it published a detailed report alleging widespread irregularities. ("Report on the Registration and Election Campaign in Namibia, 1978", published by the Christian Centre, 28.11.78) (Press conferences in London 4/5.12.78)
Other church representatives were harassed during the election period. On the night of 4 December, police searched the home of Mr. Archibald Gale, Secretary to the Anglican Bishop of Damaraland. Nothing was found.
A number of the SWAPO officials and members who have been arrested in recent weeks are in fact active church members. In a recent interview, Dr. Lukas de Vries, President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, has warned that the time may not be far off when church leaders in Namibia feel so intimidated that they may prefer to draw back and keep a low profile. He said that he now expected the South African government, working through the DTA leadership, to tighten security laws, ban SWAPO and keep the church under strict surveillance. "I expect that all church leaders will be watched by the security police. They are already keeping a check on our telephones and telex machines. We may also not be able to move around as freely as before... Freedom of speech is disappearing and very soon our sermons might even be taped in the churches." (Tel. 6.12.78; Lutheran World Federation Information 47/78, 14.12.78)
