The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has accused Swapo of exploiting poverty and people’s personal circumstances to weaken opposition parties.
This comes after former Erongo regional mobiliser Rudolf Kahingunga’s decision to rejoin the ruling party.
Kahingunga was welcomed by Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa at the party’s Erongo regional office at Swakopmund last Saturday.
Former Swakopmund mayor Blasius !Goraseb, who previously served under the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), and more than 15 members from Otjimbingwe also joined Swapo.
Most of those welcomed were formerly affiliated with the IPC.
IPC Erongo regional chairperson Aloisius Kangulu says while every citizen has the constitutional right to join a political party of their choice, Kahingunga should have first used the party’s internal structures to address his concerns.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and political choice. However, Mr Kahingunga occupied a highly influential leadership position within the party. Such a position carries the responsibility to provide guidance and to use the party’s internal democratic mechanisms to address concerns before considering any other course of action,” Kangulu said.
He said IPC’s internal democratic processes remain “intact, credible and capable of resolving differences”.
Kahingunga resigned from all his positions in the IPC on 7 July, saying the party had moved away from its founding principles of democracy, transparency, accountability and grassroots participation.
In his resignation letter, he alleges that decision-making had become concentrated among a few individuals while consultations and grassroots participation had weakened.
“The organisation has increasingly become centralised, with decision-making concentrated in the hands of a selected or chosen few,” Kahingunga writes.
He also says he could no longer continue serving in the party’s leadership because its current direction was inconsistent with the values that had attracted him to the IPC when it was formed.
Kangulu rejected those claims and questioned Kahingunga’s reasons for leaving.
“It is unfortunate when principles are compromised by material considerations. Such actions amount to a profound betrayal of the mission and values that Mr Kahingunga and many others initially committed themselves to advancing,” he said.
Kangulu further alleged that Swapo has historically used poverty and people’s personal circumstances to weaken opposition parties.
“This trend is not new in Namibian politics, as Swapo has historically exploited poverty and personal circumstances to weaken opposition parties. However, we fully respect every citizen’s constitutional right to associate with a political party of their choice,” he said.
He said the IPC Erongo regional executive met after Kahingunga’s resignation and accepted his decision to “return to the political home from which he originally departed”.
Despite the departure of one of its senior regional leaders, Kangulu said the party remains united.
“IPC is greater than any individual. The party remains united, resilient and more determined than ever to fulfil its mission,” he said.
Meanwhile, !Goraseb said his decision to join Swapo followed careful reflection and consultation.
“My decision was not taken lightly, nor was it taken alone,” he said.
!Goraseb said Namibia faces challenges such as unemployment, poverty, inequality, youth exclusion and land reform, and believes he can best contribute to addressing them from within Swapo.
“Meeting them requires unity of purpose and a movement with the depth, reach and organisational strength to turn intention into delivery,” he said.
He said joining Swapo was “an act of service” rather than an attempt to secure a position.
The latest defections follow a similar development last May when former IPC Erongo regional vice chairperson Christiaan Kazuvire, former IPC Walvis Bay Urban constituency chairperson Taapopi Shikongo and former IPC Swakopmund constituency chairperson David Shati also left the party and joined Swapo.
Swapo deputy secretary general Uahekua Herunga says the party does not discriminate against any Namibian who wants to join it, adding that the IPC should prove its assertions.
“The IPC should prove that. One should remember that a person could be part of the opposition party today and Swapo the next day. All we do is spread Swapo’s gospel.”
