Hamutenya is back

FORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, who has been at the centre of controversy in the ruling party since he was dismissed in May 2004 by former President Sam Nujoma, allegedly for “unparty activities”, is to return to Parliament.

Hamutenya confirmed to The Namibian yesterday that Swapo Party Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange had phoned on Wednesday to ask him if he was prepared to take up his seat as Swapo MP, and he had accepted. The former Foreign Minister, number 57 on the Swapo list, was next in line to replace Paulus Kapia, former Secretary of the Swapo Youth League.Kapia resigned his seat in the National Assembly earlier after being implicated in a scam involving the loss of a N$30 million investment from the Social Security Commission.Kapia, a former director of Avid, the company at whose hands money went missing, was also alleged to have received a kickback in the deal.Confirming his acceptance of the parliamentary seat, an upbeat Hamutenya said it was now up to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, to inform him when he should be sworn in as an MP by Namibia’s Chief Justice.Although Hamutenya did not confirm it, it is widely understood from some of his allies that he has been under pressure from his supporters to take up his seat in Parliament, more particularly because of former President Nujoma’s attempts to cast him into the political wilderness.Former President Nujoma dismissed Hamutenya from his post as Foreign Minister in May 2004, only days before a Swapo Congress which was to decide on the party’s nominee for the presidency.Hamutenya, incumbent President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Prime Minister Nahas Angula were the candidates selected.At the time, Nujoma alleged Hamutenya was guilty of what were termed “unparty activities”, which allegedly involved campaigning irregularities in the Omaheke constituency.Hamutenya has on several occasions, including Politburo meetings, challenged the Party leadership to come up with concrete evidence against him; something, he said in an earlier interview with this newspaper, they had failed to do.It was an open secret that Nujoma opposed Hamutenya’s candidature for the presidency and made clear his preference for his personal nominee, now President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, who was subsequently the victor in the vote at the Congress.Swapo was thrown into disarray and division with the Hamutenya-Nujoma standoff, and attempts to reinstate party unity have continued somewhat unsuccessfully to date.Asked how he felt about his return to Parliament in the wake of what was described as a witch-hunt against him after his decision to contest a three-cornered candidacy for Swapo nominations for the Presidency at the June 2004 Swapo Congress, Hamutenya felt he had been vindicated on charges of wrongdoing.”My conscience has been clear all along,” he said.Hamutenya added that a campaign of “lies and propaganda”, including attempts to implicate him in the DBC-Amcom hearings, had constituted a “concerted effort to try and justify why I was targeted in order not to have a fair chance of contesting for the Swapo choice for presidency”.He did not see that his role in Parliament would be substantially different to what it had been before.”I will speak my mind when it is called for.I will take a constructive role in defending the interests of the Namibian people and I will not be found wanting on that score.”Hamutenya said: “The challenge now is the survival and consolidation of our democracy because it has been under attack.”He said he would “fight to uphold it”.The Speaker said on Tuesday that it was up to Swapo to nominate a candidate for the seat vacated by Paulus Kapia who, ironically, was at the forefront in siding with former President Nujoma in his opposition to Hamutenya.After considerable debate on whether Swapo would in fact offer the seat to next-in-line Hamutenya, it appeared, said some analysts, that the Secretary General had no choice other than to do so, as the Swapo lists constituted the wish of the party’s highest decision-making body, Congress itself.The former Foreign Minister, number 57 on the Swapo list, was next in line to replace Paulus Kapia, former Secretary of the Swapo Youth League.Kapia resigned his seat in the National Assembly earlier after being implicated in a scam involving the loss of a N$30 million investment from the Social Security Commission.Kapia, a former director of Avid, the company at whose hands money went missing, was also alleged to have received a kickback in the deal.Confirming his acceptance of the parliamentary seat, an upbeat Hamutenya said it was now up to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, to inform him when he should be sworn in as an MP by Namibia’s Chief Justice.Although Hamutenya did not confirm it, it is widely understood from some of his allies that he has been under pressure from his supporters to take up his seat in Parliament, more particularly because of former President Nujoma’s attempts to cast him into the political wilderness.Former President Nujoma dismissed Hamutenya from his post as Foreign Minister in May 2004, only days before a Swapo Congress which was to decide on the party’s nominee for the presidency. Hamutenya, incumbent President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Prime Minister Nahas Angula were the candidates selected.At the time, Nujoma alleged Hamutenya was guilty of what were termed “unparty activities”, which allegedly involved campaigning irregularities in the Omaheke constituency.Hamutenya has on several occasions, including Politburo meetings, challenged the Party leadership to come up with concrete evidence against him; something, he said in an earlier interview with this newspaper, they had failed to do.It was an open secret that Nujoma opposed Hamutenya’s candidature for the presidency and made clear his preference for his personal nominee, now President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, who was subsequently the victor in the vote at the Congress.Swapo was thrown into disarray and division with the Hamutenya-Nujoma standoff, and attempts to reinstate party unity have continued somewhat unsuccessfully to date.Asked how he felt about his return to Parliament in the wake of what was described as a witch-hunt against him after his decision to contest a three-cornered candidacy for Swapo nominations for the Presidency at the June 2004 Swapo Congress, Hamutenya felt he had been vindicated on charges of wrongdoing.”My conscience has been clear all along,” he said.Hamutenya added that a campaign of “lies and propaganda”, including attempts to implicate him in the DBC-Amcom hearings, had constituted a “concerted effort to try and justify why I was targeted in order not to have a fair chance of contesting for the Swapo choice for presidency”.He did not see that his role in Parliament would be substantially different to what it had been before.”I will speak my mind when it is called for.I will take a constructive role in defending the interests of the Namibian people and I will not be found wanting on that score.”Hamutenya said: “The challenge now is the survival and consolidation of our democracy because it has been under attack.”He said he would “fight to uphold it”.The Speaker said on Tuesday that it was up to Swapo to nominate a candidate for the seat vacated by Paulus Kapia who, ironically, was at the forefront in siding with former President Nujoma in his opposition to Hamutenya.After considerable debate on whether Swapo would in fact offer the seat to next-in-line Hamutenya, it appeared, said some analysts, that the Secretary General had no choice other than to do so, as the Swapo lists constituted the wish of the party’s highest decision-making body, Congress itself.