Kazenambo Shifts Attention To A Transformative Debate About Tribalism

THE Deputy Minister of Regional Government and Housing, Kazenambo Kazenambo, initiated what is without doubt an incendiary, but essential debate about our future. As is the custom in Namibia, debates of this nature generate more heat than light.

There are two ways of deconstructing this murky discussion. In the main, the discussion has both micro and macro level analyses.The micro entails the politics of succession within Swapo, while the macro-level concerns the politics of tribalism in the country. Even if Kazenambo is making a moral appeal to Swapo as a collective, he is also appealing to Namibians to denounce tribalism. Notwithstanding the moral necessity for such, it needs mention that at the macro-level we have avoided a candid discussion about the perverse effects of tribalism (and racism) on our daily lives and the limits it imposes on the paths of life we can or can’t pursue. Through the defensive posture that we have adopted as a country, we have mainly used three status-quo arguments. First, the main sponsors of the status quo would argue that to talk about tribalism is likely to disturb the ‘peace and tranquillity’ that we have enjoyed since independence. The ‘policy of national reconciliation’ is used as canon fodder to divert us from any discussion of tribalism. We are usually reminded about ‘our unity in diversity’. The weakness in this rehearsed argument is that it ignores the simmering tensions that exist in multi-ethnic societies, especially when grievances, including the real and imagined exclusion of minorities as pressing issues are not phrased as moral issues deserving urgent attention. We have noted the limits of this argument in multiculturalism as a doctrine in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Under the guise of diverse cultures living together in unity, but not together in terms of opportunities, these societies didn’t only create ethnic ghettos for minorities, but the concomitant exclusion also nurtured anger on the part of these minorities. Such anger is manifested in anti-social behaviour and radical Islam. Therefore, sacrificing the debate about tribalism (or racism) on the altar of peace is hardly a sufficient condition since it ignores dealing with the real or imagined fears of those who feel that they lose out on opportunities because of their ethnic origin. Second, using the same status-quo posture, the second group of covert tribal entrepreneurs postulate that elections are a sufficient equaliser as these produce outcomes that express the will of the people. The argument here is that democratic elections produce ‘just outcomes’. Thus, it is sufficient for a Herero or a Damara to avail himself or herself for the supreme post in the land and the people will decide at the polls. Unsophisticated parallels are drawn with Barack Obama’s ascendancy to the White House. The limit of this argument is that it ignores the limits of elections in producing ‘just outcomes’. Namibia is far from being meritocratic and elections within political parties are hardly based on the technical competence of leaders, but are mostly the expression of ethnic majorities. The majoritarian argument is less likely to lead to a ‘just society’ because a democracy whose main selling point is elections and not horizontal broad-based modernisation of political debates and attitudes is likely to lead to illiberal outcomes and the dictatorship of the many.The third status-quo argument can be found in Gwen Lister’s Political Perspective of last week in which she appeals to Kazenambo to be a ‘Namibian first’ instead of affirming his tribal identity. First, Lister does not make an attempt to probe the problematiques she poses, notably her lack of understanding as to why Namibians are obsessed with race and tribalism. Herein lies the rub – when individuals are victims of tribalism and racism, they are likely to make it their obsession. Second, Lister appears to have zoomed in on Kazenambo’s appeal at face value. I submit prudently that there is a generic reading to Kazenambo’s comments, intoning that he does not necessarily want to see a Herero-speaking president for Namibia, but that there must be a shift from one ethnic group to others. And this shall not happen unless we frame the debate about tribalism as such. The danger with Lister’s argument is that it is based on a hegemonic consensus whose limits became evident in the French debates about minorities. The argument (whose ardent supporters are mostly on the French liberal left) was that minorities (Blacks and Arabs) should not seek special treatment, nor should there be a debate about affirmative action in view of the fact that the French Republic is one of Egalité, Fraternité et Liberté. The fallacious argument is that it is enough to be a French citizen, irrespective of race or origin and the fraternal Republic will provide equal opportunities. However, practice has shown that the Republic is hardly fraternal and there must be clear policy interventions to effect equality. Therefore, it is not enough to be Namibian when there are tribal entrepreneurs who consistently remind others what they are by denying them opportunities.As is evident, these status-quo arguments are hardly transformative in nature and merely entrench a naive and hypocritical consensus, while in essence there are first and second grade Namibians. What is urgent is a transformative discussion about tribalism. Such a discussion demands that we call a national conference on tribalism at which various actors such as politicians, the church and intellectuals debate about tribalism through all its angles. Kazenambo Kazenambo has provided a crucial guidepost for such a transformative discussion. After all, tribalism in Namibia is not imagined, it is real. * Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.

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