Political Perspective

By: GWEN LISTER

INSTEAD of going to all the trouble and expense of laying a charge against the Swapo Party Youth League leader for mouthing off at the judiciary, the Law Society of Namibia would be better off giving Paulus Kapia a complimentary copy of the country's Constitution and a course in democracy.

I SAY this because it's a waste of time to go to court against this

fellow.

It is well-nigh impossible to pry open a closed mind and since

the majority of Swapo, including the leadership, seem to like him

just fine the way he is, why bother? Besides, most political

parties on the planet throw up their aberrations from time to time,

and Kapia is ultimately Swapo's cross to bear, that is, until such

time as it decides to do something about him.

 

This is unlikely to happen in the near future, unfortunately, as

everyone in the ranks is a 'comrade', at least until the elections

are over.

 

One wouldn't want to isolate any one individual or group

unnecessarily when you might need to call on their support.

 

He did irritate the leadership somewhat with his famous

'non-comrades list' which he promised the public, but never

delivered.

 

Guess we shouldn't be too surprised that he doesn't keep his

word either.

 

Perhaps to remind him we should call him (much as they nickname

players in soccer circles) Paulus 'The List' Kapia! The demand for

the SPYL to have representation on the Judicial Service Commission

is too bizarre for words.

 

They'd be demanding that all judges wear woolly scarves in Swapo

colours when they're on the Bench and allow only card-carrying

members to bring cases before court! It's people such as Kapia who

earn a country the 'banana' label, and if it weren't a crying shame

that we give people like this a platform on behalf of the youth,

then it would be hugely funny.

 

Some strangers to this country, seeing him in full throttle on

TV hurling epithets at anything or anyone even vaguely white, might

be forgiven for thinking this is stand-up comedy Namibia-style! I'm

about to ask MP George Kaiyamo to toss Kapia a couple of those 'old

books' that his Ministry wants to get rid of.

 

Even delving into a couple of outdated encyclopaedias, apartheid

textbooks and the collected works of Kim Il Sung, not to mention

Mein Kampf, might teach him a couple of things.

 

And it would save him from reading the Swapo Constitution again

and again and again, which is why he might be forgiven for thinking

that this is the one people are talking about all the time!

Surprise! Surprise! SPYL's Deputy Secretary, Evelyn !Nawases,

supported Kapia, saying he was speaking - not as an individual -

but as an 'elected' official.

 

So they've spoken to the youth lately, have they? This newspaper

and the Legal Assistance Centre, among others, have been described

as "self-declared defenders of the enemies of the Namibian

people".

 

Truly, these conspiracy theorists make me want to throw up! What

enemies do the Namibian people have, other than those loose cannons

in their own ranks? And I swear on my Namibian citizenship that we

had nothing to do with that damn planeload of mercenaries headed

for Equatorial Guinea or wherever! And, while I'm swearing about

that, I might as well also assure Kapia and his cohorts that I'm in

possession of sole and authentic Namibian citizenship with no claim

to European residency or domicile.

 

But if he wants to, and since he apparently needs a new

challenge, he could try another 'list' of Party higher-ups who

can't say the same.

 

As for his accusation that I'm "mad", well, there might even be

some who would agree with him.

 

After all, why would anyone - other than a "mad" person - have

stayed in this business for nearly three decades of their life?

Meanwhile Kapia: why don't you just give people who are trying to

do the above a bit of a break, and earn your salary by devoting

your efforts to trying to uplift the youth you claim to speak

for.

 

Failing which, get a farm and grow something for the good of the

country and treat your workers nicely.

 

(You're surely very well placed on that list already!)

 

It is well-nigh impossible to pry open a closed mind and since the

majority of Swapo, including the leadership, seem to like him just

fine the way he is, why bother? Besides, most political parties on

the planet throw up their aberrations from time to time, and Kapia

is ultimately Swapo's cross to bear, that is, until such time as it

decides to do something about him.This is unlikely to happen in the

near future, unfortunately, as everyone in the ranks is a

'comrade', at least until the elections are over.One wouldn't want

to isolate any one individual or group unnecessarily when you might

need to call on their support.He did irritate the leadership

somewhat with his famous 'non-comrades list' which he promised the

public, but never delivered.Guess we shouldn't be too surprised

that he doesn't keep his word either.Perhaps to remind him we

should call him (much as they nickname players in soccer circles)

Paulus 'The List' Kapia! The demand for the SPYL to have

representation on the Judicial Service Commission is too bizarre

for words.They'd be demanding that all judges wear woolly scarves

in Swapo colours when they're on the Bench and allow only

card-carrying members to bring cases before court! It's people such

as Kapia who earn a country the 'banana' label, and if it weren't a

crying shame that we give people like this a platform on behalf of

the youth, then it would be hugely funny.Some strangers to this

country, seeing him in full throttle on TV hurling epithets at

anything or anyone even vaguely white, might be forgiven for

thinking this is stand-up comedy Namibia-style! I'm about to ask MP

George Kaiyamo to toss Kapia a couple of those 'old books' that his

Ministry wants to get rid of.Even delving into a couple of outdated

encyclopaedias, apartheid textbooks and the collected works of Kim

Il Sung, not to mention Mein Kampf, might teach him a couple of

things.And it would save him from reading the Swapo Constitution

again and again and again, which is why he might be forgiven for

thinking that this is the one people are talking about all the

time! Surprise! Surprise! SPYL's Deputy Secretary, Evelyn !Nawases,

supported Kapia, saying he was speaking - not as an individual -

but as an 'elected' official.So they've spoken to the youth lately,

have they? This newspaper and the Legal Assistance Centre, among

others, have been described as "self-declared defenders of the

enemies of the Namibian people".Truly, these conspiracy theorists

make me want to throw up! What enemies do the Namibian people have,

other than those loose cannons in their own ranks? And I swear on

my Namibian citizenship that we had nothing to do with that damn

planeload of mercenaries headed for Equatorial Guinea or wherever!

And, while I'm swearing about that, I might as well also assure

Kapia and his cohorts that I'm in possession of sole and authentic

Namibian citizenship with no claim to European residency or

domicile.But if he wants to, and since he apparently needs a new

challenge, he could try another 'list' of Party higher-ups who

can't say the same.As for his accusation that I'm "mad", well,

there might even be some who would agree with him.After all, why

would anyone - other than a "mad" person - have stayed in this

business for nearly three decades of their life? Meanwhile Kapia:

why don't you just give people who are trying to do the above a bit

of a break, and earn your salary by devoting your efforts to trying

to uplift the youth you claim to speak for.Failing which, get a

farm and grow something for the good of the country and treat your

workers nicely.(You're surely very well placed on that list

already!)

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