The Director General of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) claims sole responsibility for a decision to suspend all religious programming from television and radio, with immediate effect and until further notice.
In a decision that will undoubtedly cause public controversy the press release said that the Corporation was "concerned about the way some devotions are conducted" and wanted to "revisit its guidelines to that effect".
The NBC press release also apologised to viewers and listeners for "any inconvenience this may have caused".
In a move which will be seen as a direct assault on 'non-traditional churches', this summary decision comes in the wake of an attack, in June last year, by President Sam Nujoma speaking in Tsumeb on what he termed non-traditional churches which, in his words, tried to mislead their followers.
He said the Government only recognised the Anglican, African Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran churches because the rest "had no vision and were misleading".
The CCN's General Secretary, Nangula Kathindi, subsequently asked the President to address the problem of what she termed "misleading churches" and appealed to him not to tar all churches with the same brush.
She said there were 19 churches and other bodies affiliated to the CCN that had contributed to nation building, development and reconciliation in the country.
She said that in the wake of the President's criticisms, many member churches had complained about not being recognised while they preached the gospel and were involved in nation building.
In 2001, the President had launched an attack on Christians, labelling Christianity a "foreign philosophy", which had prompted the CCN to call a meeting with him.
Nujoma had suggested at the time that Namibians go back to their ancestral worship of the cattle god, known as "Kalunga ya Nangombe".
When approached for comment on the surprise move this week to suspend all religious programming, Gerry Munyama, NBC Director General, maintained that this was purely an operational issue, an executive decision taken by him personally, and denied any directive from either State House or the NBC board of directors, which he said only meets again in March.
However, Munyama said that, "it's just getting out of hand, seriously, it's just getting out of hand," when he described the way in which "religion is getting out of the traditional way we know it."
He highlighted the mushrooming of different religious groups, particularly in Windhoek, and made reference to numerous tents set up for religious services in Katutura and other suburbs around the capital.
"Somewhere, somehow, we must seek leadership of the religious groups," said Munyama, stressing the need to ensure that the NBC lives up to its mission to inform and educate the Namibian public correctly.
To this end, the NBC has written a formal request for a meeting with Reverend Nangula Kathindi, Secretary General of the Council of Churches of Namibia (CCN), in order to discuss the guidelines regulating which religious programmes the Corporation should put on the air.
No date has been set for the meeting.
Munyama emphasised that the immediate suspension is "only temporary" and as soon as the guidelines have been revised, the NBC would be screening religious programmes again.
In the meantime, the NBC's relevant programming department has been instructed to look for other programmes that can run on Sundays in the former religious slots.
Menesia Muinjo, acting director general until Munyama returns from leave next Monday, pointed out that only the "preaching parts" of religious programmes are being targeted, while gospel music and other religious programmes remain suitable for use until the new guidelines are drawn up.
Many church leaders are currently on leave and were unable to comment on the "ban", but Bishop Wahl Abrahams of the New Covenant Celebration Centre in Windhoek said: "I think it is a sad day for the church in Namibia".
He said the churches now had to look for other ways (TV and radio) of informing and bringing the message of hope and salvation to the Namibian people.
Bishop Abrahams said he had been conducting religious devotions on NBC radio since 1990 and "did not see any problems with those guidelines" (which were currently in existence) and NBC producers had always ensured compliance with these.
Reverend Ngeno Nakamela, former CCN General Secretary and now responsible for the inner-city Lutheran congregation in Windhoek was also approached for comment on the suspension.
He emphasised the country's Constitution which provided for freedom of religion, and said the 'mushrooming' of churches had nothing to do with the NBC's religious programming guidelines.
He added that it was the 'incapacity' of the NBC as far as its selection of religious programmes was concerned that was to blame.
"I find it funny that the NBC wants to consult the churches (the CCN) after they have decided to suspend the religious programmes", he said.