Kawana accuses The Namibian of fabricating a story

MINISTER of Presidential Affairs, Albert Kawana, last night denied that President Hifikepunye Pohamba coerced three retired generals, who were nominated by the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) as its congress delegates, to withdraw.

The Namibian yesterday published a lead article under the headline ‘Swapo at Crossroads’ with a subhead, ‘Generals withdraw under pressure’.The article said the President requested the three to withdraw as SPYL delegates, as he would accommodate them among his 10 handpicked people on the Swapo Central Committee.Kawana accused this newspaper of ‘deliberately’ choosing to ‘fabricate’ the report, which, according to him, had no factual basis.Kawana was one of the officials the newspaper called to establish the factual basis of the information. He was unreachable the entire day.The Namibian verified the news article with various other Swapo leaders, who spoke on condition of anonymity.’At no point did the President invite or meet with the three generals regarding their nomination as delegates and candidates to the Congress by the Swapo Party Youth League, nor did the President meet with those who nominated them,’ Kawana said in his statement.He also denied reports that the President has promised anything to the retired generals, adding that relations between the president and the generals remain ‘very healthy’.

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