Infighting erupts in Swapo

THERE has been serious behind-the-scenes fighting ahead of the Swapo regional conference for the Omusati Region.

In the ring were two Swapo women heavyweights, secretary general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and Omusati governor Sophia Shaningwa, who is also a Swapo leader assigned to the region and a member of the Swapo Central Committee.Iivula-Ithana has accused Shaningwa of siding with an unconstitutional ‘new formation’ against a legitimate Swapo structure. The Swapo secretary general was referring to a group of dissatisfied Swapo members who opposed the nullification of the June 30 regional conference.The group wrote a letter, signed by Shaningwa, to the Swapo secretariat to reverse its decision to nullify the conference.’I am perplexed that a formation unknown and foreign to the ideals of the constitution of Swapo Party has unlawfully expropriated the property of the party,’ Iivula-Ithana wrote in reply.Shaningwa is also accused of having used the Swapo Party letterhead illegally.’The letterheads of the Swapo Party are the property of the party and as far as I know, there is no structure in this organisation called the Concerned Swapo Party Joined Regional Leadership,’ Iivula-Ithana wrote in her response.Contacted for comment about the allegations, Shaningwa only said: ‘I am too honest to be messed with.’The tensions between the party faithful are widespread ahead of the Swapo congress at the end of the year.The Okahandja and Grootfontein districts also had their share of controversy ahead of the Otjozondjupa regional conference, which was held on Sunday. The issue at the two districts was party membership cards.At Okahandja the claim was that membership cards, which were collected by the district executive for verification, were not returned to some members to deliberately exclude them from participating in the district conference.At Grootfontein claims were made that some officials tried to issue membership cards to their supporters to get them in as delegates to the district conference and ultimately into the regional conference.New controversies have again been raised ahead of the upcoming Swapo Party Elders’ Council congress scheduled for Ongwediva this weekend.It is said that the old guard in the Elders’ Council are trying to stay in power by ensuring that their loyalists form the majority of congress delegates.The Namibian was informed that delegates’ lists are being changed, in especially Caprivi, where legitimate delegates are being replaced with those supporting the current status quo in the Elders’ Council.Some of the delegates, who are supposed to start travelling today to Ongwediva to be in time for the registration on Thursday, were informed that their names had been removed.In the meantime the Erongo and Otjozondjupa regions held their Swapo regional conferences this past weekend.According to one of the assigned leaders from Otjozondjupa, Peter Katjavivi, all problems that were experienced at Okahandja and Grootfontein were resolved ahead of the regional conference.The acting regional coordinator for the region, Susan Hikopua, was elected permanently in that position, while the Otjozondjupa governor, Rapama Kamehozu, was re-elected as mobiliser and Julius Neubo took over as treasurer.In Erongo Philipus Heita was elected as regional coordinator and Hilma Angula as treasurer. Broneus Mateus was re-elected as the mobiliser.