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AROUND THE WORLD 4: Namibia Kicks Out Journalists

Namibian officials have taken the unusual step of kicking journalists out of the country in order to project the privacy of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, according to South African newspaper The Sunday Times.

The paper reported that three French paparazzi photographers were ordered to leave immediately last week. The Directorate of Immigration issued a letter to other photographers informing them that they were considered “prohibited/illegal” immigrants and giving them 48 hours to quit Namibia or face arrest.

Namibian Prime Minister, Nahas Angula, told the Sunday Times, “This lady is expecting. You guys are harassing her. Why don’t you respect her privacy? Harassment is not allowed in Namibia.”

The couple, who are expecting their first biological child in May, are staying in the Burning Shores resort in the west of the country with their two adopted children, Maddox, 4, and Zahara, who is thought to be about 11 months.

On Friday, April 21, the couple’s bodyguard, Mickey Brett, reportedly gave a statement signed by Pitt and Jolie to a local journalist. The statement expressed the couple’s love for Africa and thanked local people for their hospitality but added, “As for the press, we kindly ask for privacy so we can be free to enjoy this beautiful country with our children.”

Senior immigration official Steve Mulundu told the Sunday Times that this was the first time journalists had been thrown out of Namibia since the country gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

--Written by Kate Day

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