By Basillioh Rukanga, WINDHOEK, Namibia
The Namibian government has refused a request to extend the visa for a Ugandan king who has been getting medical treatment in the country since April.
King Mutebi II of the Buganda has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed condition. The centre where he has been staying requested his visa extension earlier this month.
But in response, the international relations ministry said Namibian immigration law provided for a maximum stay of only 90 days in a year to foreign citizens.
This comes weeks after authorities reportedly expressed displeasure over protests by Ugandan activists at Namibian diplomatic missions.
"Having checked the records, I wish to inform you that the request for an extension is declined,'' the state broadcaster NBC quoted a ministry official as saying.
The Ugandan envoy in South Africa said recently that Namibian authorities were unhappy over the harassment of their diplomatic officials regarding the king’s stay.
In May there were protests at the Namibian High Commission in the UK, with Ugandan demonstrators demanding transparency over the king’s extended stay.
They wanted Namibia to disclose information about the king's whereabouts to put to rest suspicions that he had been kidnapped.
The Namibian government then referred the matter to the Buganda traditional authorities.
Two weeks ago, Buganda traditional chiefs travelled to Namibia to seek the truth about the king’s health, sparking diplomatic concerns and a rebuke from Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni.
“I request all the Ugandans to stop embarrassing Uganda by opportunistically trying to show how much they are for the Kabaka [king],” Mr Museveni said.
The delegation, which was said to have travelled without the knowledge of either the Buganda kingdom or the Ugandan authorities, was briefly detained and questioned by Namibian officials, who reportedly asked if they had authorisation to see the monarch.
They had gone even though the Buganda king had addressed his subjects through a pre-recorded video, where he spoke about his improving health, and expressing hope that he would return soon.
On Wednesday, the Namibian newspaper quoted a state official saying that it was “normal practice” for a foreign national who had stayed for 90 days to return to their country.
“There is nothing controversial about that,” foreign relations officer Erastus Hailwa said.
Uganda has said it will respect Namibia’s decision."Namibia has decided that they are not interested in this kind of bad publicity, and we should respect [their] position," Uganda's Monitor newspaper quoted the country's Foreign Minister Henry Oryem Okello as saying.
"We have to respect their rules and ways of life. Since Kabaka went to Namibia, many people have turned the country into... a market where they enter as they wish," he said.
Buganda is the largest of Uganda's four ancient kingdoms, none of which have any political power but remain influential.
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