BCP president defends making wife signatory to party account

Body of Christ Party (BCP) president Tomas Festus has defended his decision to appoint his wife as a signatory to the party’s bank account, saying the move is lawful and driven by administrative challenges.

Festus, who is also a member of parliament, told The Namibian on Saturday that his wife’s inclusion does not violate any statute or party rule.

“There is no provision in our laws or in the party’s constitution that stops my wife from being a signatory,” he said.

His comments follow criticism from some party members who question the appropriateness of the arrangement and accused him of misusing party funds.

“My wife, being the processor and the treasurer, is the authoriser. We initially had two other people whose names I don’t want to mention, but they have since joined other political parties,” he said.

He explained that the party had to close its old account and open a new one after former signatories defected.

“The account was blocked for almost six months. We couldn’t bank our membership contributions and we couldn’t withdraw funds if I was not present. So, we changed it. My wife and another member from Outapi became signatories. Again, that person also left to join another party. It’s not that we want to misuse the money,” he said.

Festus added that appointing ordinary party members as signatories had become impractical because several past signatories have left the party.

“Is there a law that prohibits her from being there? Yes, I see the possible conflict of interest, but when did she become the processor?” he asked.

He also said the party, whose members are predominantly from revival churches, does not have the financial capacity to rent office space.

Each political party represented in parliament receives about N$350 000 from the Electoral Commission of Namibia per seat, paid quarterly.

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