Political Perspective

By: GWEN LISTER

CERTAIN Swapo leaders, notably Hifikepunye Pohamba, Secretary General, Eunice Iipinge, Secretary of the Women's Council, Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, and Deputy Minister Hadino Hishongwa, have come out in the open to condemn the 'Nghifitikeko letters'; but others are conspicuous by their silence, and they include none lesser than President Sam Nujoma himself, as well as the usually vocal Secretary of the Swapo Youth League, Paulus Kapia.

THE 'Nghifitikeko letters', a series of anonymous e-mails purported

to be sent by a certain Ananias Nghititikeko, are bent on

discrediting various prominent Swapo leaders and members and have

been circulated to all and sundry, and, in the process, have driven

ever deeper wedges into an already divided Swapo.

The prime target of the campaign has been ousted Foreign Affairs

Minister and former Swapo presidential hopeful Hidipo Hamutenya and

those who are said to be his allies, including 'white imperialists'

and some black empowerment initiatives.

 

The campaign has striking similarities to the frequent diatribes

launched by the SYL Secretary and friends, who have at various

times threatened to release names of comrades who aren't! Iipinge

addressed a press conference this week where she was right about

some things; wrong about others.

 

Her defence of former Swapo presidential hopeful Hidipo

Hamutenya was quite admirable, given the otherwise resounding

silence from party ranks over the latter's dismissal on rather

spurious charges of, among others, 'unparty activities' and even

allegations of gun-running.

 

And this on the eve of the extraordinary congress that was to

vote for the candidate of their choice.

 

Despite no publicly disseminated evidence to support these

claims, Hamutenya became a virtual pariah overnight, shunned by

close friends and allies from the struggle over decades.

 

An attempt by Swapo's Secretary General to try to patch things

up by a lukewarm show of unity at which all the Swapo presidential

candidates were present, didn't have the desired result, and the

anti-Hamutenya campaign has persisted, spreading suspicion and

further dissent.

 

But Iipinge was wrong in saying the e-mail campaigner/s are not

from Party ranks.

 

The person/s clearly are, for they are privy to information that

is not widely available and the campaign simply cannot be blamed on

opposition parties or 'imperialists' for that matter.

 

It is something clearly emanating from the ranks of Swapo

itself, and one cannot help attribute this to the fact that the

President himself has failed to condemn the campaign or even

address the issue by calling for the culprits to be rooted out.

 

Neither, of course, has the SYL Secretary.

 

The 'writer/s' themselves are lying low at present, which

implies something is happening somewhere to tell them to put a lid

on things, at least for the time being.

 

Hopefully there is cognizance by the masterminds that the

campaign, whatever its original aim or intention, was only serving

to further undermine the ruling party and the unity forged by

'bonds of blood' as Iipinge referred to... But Swapo's media are

not addressing the issue of the campaign, perhaps feeling its best

left alone.

 

Namibia Today, normally quick to uncover all sorts of sinister

plots and agendas, has completely ignored the issue; and the Swapo

Youth League web site has likewise followed suit with silence on

the matter.

 

Even they know they can't foist this one on the luckless CoD!

And if people find it hard to credit the e-mail campaign to a Swapo

source, then they have only to scrutinise a recent self-described

'hard-hitting' press conference by the SYL Secretary and other

writings on their site, with the contents of the e-mail.

 

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the similarities.

 

Anyhow, we're waiting to see whether Swapo, if at all concerned

about these goings-on and the deepening rifts as a result of the

campaign, are going to thoroughly investigate and finally establish

the identity of the culprits.

 

The prime target of the campaign has been ousted Foreign Affairs

Minister and former Swapo presidential hopeful Hidipo Hamutenya and

those who are said to be his allies, including 'white imperialists'

and some black empowerment initiatives.The campaign has striking

similarities to the frequent diatribes launched by the SYL

Secretary and friends, who have at various times threatened to

release names of comrades who aren't! Iipinge addressed a press

conference this week where she was right about some things; wrong

about others.Her defence of former Swapo presidential hopeful

Hidipo Hamutenya was quite admirable, given the otherwise

resounding silence from party ranks over the latter's dismissal on

rather spurious charges of, among others, 'unparty activities' and

even allegations of gun-running.And this on the eve of the

extraordinary congress that was to vote for the candidate of their

choice.Despite no publicly disseminated evidence to support these

claims, Hamutenya became a virtual pariah overnight, shunned by

close friends and allies from the struggle over decades.An attempt

by Swapo's Secretary General to try to patch things up by a

lukewarm show of unity at which all the Swapo presidential

candidates were present, didn't have the desired result, and the

anti-Hamutenya campaign has persisted, spreading suspicion and

further dissent.But Iipinge was wrong in saying the e-mail

campaigner/s are not from Party ranks.The person/s clearly are, for

they are privy to information that is not widely available and the

campaign simply cannot be blamed on opposition parties or

'imperialists' for that matter.It is something clearly emanating

from the ranks of Swapo itself, and one cannot help attribute this

to the fact that the President himself has failed to condemn the

campaign or even address the issue by calling for the culprits to

be rooted out.Neither, of course, has the SYL Secretary.The

'writer/s' themselves are lying low at present, which implies

something is happening somewhere to tell them to put a lid on

things, at least for the time being.Hopefully there is cognizance

by the masterminds that the campaign, whatever its original aim or

intention, was only serving to further undermine the ruling party

and the unity forged by 'bonds of blood' as Iipinge referred to...

But Swapo's media are not addressing the issue of the campaign,

perhaps feeling its best left alone.Namibia Today, normally quick

to uncover all sorts of sinister plots and agendas, has completely

ignored the issue; and the Swapo Youth League web site has likewise

followed suit with silence on the matter.Even they know they can't

foist this one on the luckless CoD! And if people find it hard to

credit the e-mail campaign to a Swapo source, then they have only

to scrutinise a recent self-described 'hard-hitting' press

conference by the SYL Secretary and other writings on their site,

with the contents of the e-mail.Doesn't take a rocket scientist to

see the similarities.Anyhow, we're waiting to see whether Swapo, if

at all concerned about these goings-on and the deepening rifts as a

result of the campaign, are going to thoroughly investigate and

finally establish the identity of the culprits.

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