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DTA six defect to Nudo
By: PETROS KUTEEUETHE DTA has suffered yet another political blow with the defection of six of its regional councillors, including two members of the National Council, to the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo).
The six councillors announced their move at a Nudo congress held
near Aminuis last week.
They are: Mburumba Kerina of Aminuis constituency; Billy
Katjatenja (Otjinene constituency); Theofelus Uahongora (Omatako
constituency); Asser Mbai (Okakarara constituency); Jonathan
Katjimune (Tsumkwe constituency); and Edward Mumbuu of (Opuwo
constituency).
Kerina and Mumbuu have DTA seats in the National Council.
Their resignations, which come into effect at the end of
February, end months of speculation about their political future
after it was rumoured that they had supported Chief Kuaima
Riruako's decision to pull Nudo out of the DTA.
Mbai told The Namibian: "DTA politics has come to an end.
It has stagnated.
That is why affiliate parties and individual members are leaving
... The party has totally lost direction".
Katjimune lamented: "The DTA was our beloved father, but now he
is dead and there is nothing we can do about that.
We just have to forget about him and move on".
Asked why they had taken so long to quit the DTA, the outgoing
councillors said that, while awaiting Nudo's registration as an
independent party, they had been consulting and mobilising their
electorates.
Mbai said: "As councillors we were delegated responsibilities
such as running our respective constituencies ... we also had
development programmes and projects that were still running, and
needed to finalise all these things and properly hand them over to
the relevant authorities".
The Okakarara councillor scoffed at suggestions that the
councillors had risked reprimands or even expulsion from the DTA
over their open support for Riruako while serving in the
alliance.
"We were never going to be reprimanded or expelled by the DTA,
we were not appointed into our positions but were directly voted by
our people," he said.
The departing councillors said they were relishing the prospect
of standing for Nudo against DTA candidates should the Electoral
Commission decide to hold by-elections in their respective
constituencies.
Nudo President Kuaima Riruako hailed the arrival of the six
councillors as a "milestone" for his party which he says has
attracted huge support from different parts of the country since
its withdrawal from the DTA fold.
"Nudo has at last broken the political shackles which bound it
for the last 20-odd years to the DTA," he declared.
"Nudo now humbly and seriously appeals to all Namibian people to
come so that we can join hands in this crusade to avert the looming
social and political catastrophe in our country".
The six councillors' resignation had been feared as a major
setback for the DTA, which has been slipping into relentless
political crisis since the middle of last year when its two most
powerful affiliates - the Republican Party and Nudo - severed ties
with the alliance.
A clear indication of how the defections would hurt the DTA came
in October last year when the party lost control of its Windhoek
West constituency stronghold in a by-election.
The DTA came a disappointing fourth, with only 458 of the 5 300
votes cast during the by-election, which followed the resignation
of former DTA councillor Henk Mudge from the party.
Since the latest defections, efforts by The Namibian to obtain
comment from the DTA have proved fruitless as the party's entire
leadership was said to be still on holiday.
They are: Mburumba Kerina of Aminuis constituency; Billy Katjatenja
(Otjinene constituency); Theofelus Uahongora (Omatako
constituency); Asser Mbai (Okakarara constituency); Jonathan
Katjimune (Tsumkwe constituency); and Edward Mumbuu of (Opuwo
constituency). Kerina and Mumbuu have DTA seats in the National
Council. Their resignations, which come into effect at the end of
February, end months of speculation about their political future
after it was rumoured that they had supported Chief Kuaima
Riruako's decision to pull Nudo out of the DTA. Mbai told The
Namibian: "DTA politics has come to an end. It has stagnated. That
is why affiliate parties and individual members are leaving ... The
party has totally lost direction". Katjimune lamented: "The DTA was
our beloved father, but now he is dead and there is nothing we can
do about that. We just have to forget about him and move on". Asked
why they had taken so long to quit the DTA, the outgoing
councillors said that, while awaiting Nudo's registration as an
independent party, they had been consulting and mobilising their
electorates. Mbai said: "As councillors we were delegated
responsibilities such as running our respective constituencies ...
we also had development programmes and projects that were still
running, and needed to finalise all these things and properly hand
them over to the relevant authorities". The Okakarara councillor
scoffed at suggestions that the councillors had risked reprimands
or even expulsion from the DTA over their open support for Riruako
while serving in the alliance. "We were never going to be
reprimanded or expelled by the DTA, we were not appointed into our
positions but were directly voted by our people," he said. The
departing councillors said they were relishing the prospect of
standing for Nudo against DTA candidates should the Electoral
Commission decide to hold by-elections in their respective
constituencies. Nudo President Kuaima Riruako hailed the arrival of
the six councillors as a "milestone" for his party which he says
has attracted huge support from different parts of the country
since its withdrawal from the DTA fold. "Nudo has at last broken
the political shackles which bound it for the last 20-odd years to
the DTA," he declared. "Nudo now humbly and seriously appeals to
all Namibian people to come so that we can join hands in this
crusade to avert the looming social and political catastrophe in
our country". The six councillors' resignation had been feared as a
major setback for the DTA, which has been slipping into relentless
political crisis since the middle of last year when its two most
powerful affiliates - the Republican Party and Nudo - severed ties
with the alliance. A clear indication of how the defections would
hurt the DTA came in October last year when the party lost control
of its Windhoek West constituency stronghold in a by-election. The
DTA came a disappointing fourth, with only 458 of the 5 300 votes
cast during the by-election, which followed the resignation of
former DTA councillor Henk Mudge from the party. Since the latest
defections, efforts by The Namibian to obtain comment from the DTA
have proved fruitless as the party's entire leadership was said to
be still on holiday.
