Nghimtina quits, Govt in denial

GOVERNMENT was left with egg on its face yesterday after a shooting incident involving a veteran Minister backfired on him and Cabinet – in a day of to-ing and fro-ing he was ordered to resign, then asked to withdraw his resignation, then refused to withdraw it after it appeared that the matter had been amicably resolved.

Government officials are denying everything. However, the fate of Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina is still in the balance as far as The Namibian could establish late yesterday.After Nghimtina was ordered to resign, heavy lobbying from sections of Swapo allegedly resulted in this being softened to a presidential reprimand.Several well-placed sources in Swapo confirmed that Nghimtina was summoned to State House on Monday and asked by President Hifikepunye Pohamba to resign from his Cabinet post and also as Member of Parliament.It comes in the wake of an incident which saw the Minister allegedly aim a firearm at a young relative of his and fire a shot in his direction because the teenager had joined the opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP).According to a local weekly newspaper, Nghimtina allegedly said he had raised the young man “with Swapo money” and he should thus not have joined another political party.According to well-placed sources within Swapo, President Pohamba called in Nghimtina on Monday and hauled him over the coals about the shooting incident, telling him it was a grave matter and that a lawmaker and Cabinet Minister could not behave in this manner.”Either you resign or I will force you to resign,” Pohamba reportedly told Nghimtina, who then handed in a letter of resignation and returned his two official vehicles.”There is nothing, please, I did not resign,” Nghimtina told The Namibian yesterday.”I cannot confirm the resignation of Minister Nghimtina,” Dr Ndeutala Angula, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, said late yesterday afternoon and referred this reporter to the Minster of Presidential Affairs, Dr Albert Kawana.”I just hear it from you now,” Minister Kawana told The Namibian.”It is absolutely not true and just speculation.”Joseph Iita, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, also said he did not know about his minister’s resignation.”I am unaware of it I was not informed about that,” Iita said when approached.However, a source close to the Swapo Politburo revealed to The Namibian late yesterday that Pohamba had a meeting on Monday night with a few of the top party leaders, among them Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana.”It was a heavy meeting,” the source said.Apparently Iivula-Ithana strongly lobbied in favour of Nghimtina to retain his positions.After the lobbying Nghimtina was allegedly called in again by President Pohamba in order “to be forgiven and to be only reprimanded” and to withdraw his resignation, which Nghimtina is said to have agreed to.This was supposed to be done in writing, but in the meantime Police officers are said to have approached Nghimtina yesterday and interrogated him on the shooting incident.”He got so angry because of the interrogations, as he was under the impression he had been forgiven, that he told State House that the resignation still stands,” the source said.The issue is now hanging in the air because President Pohamba yesterday afternoon left for Zambia to attend the funeral of the late President Levy Mwanawasa today.It is believed that former President Sam Nujoma paid a visit to State House yesterday afternoon to discuss the matter.Hidipo Hamutenya, interim RDP president, condemned the shooting incident at a press conference on Monday, saying it was a criminal offence and demanding that “the culprit should be brought to book”.RDP interim Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu was equally outspoken and called the shooting “an attempt of murder.”However, the fate of Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina is still in the balance as far as The Namibian could establish late yesterday.After Nghimtina was ordered to resign, heavy lobbying from sections of Swapo allegedly resulted in this being softened to a presidential reprimand.Several well-placed sources in Swapo confirmed that Nghimtina was summoned to State House on Monday and asked by President Hifikepunye Pohamba to resign from his Cabinet post and also as Member of Parliament.It comes in the wake of an incident which saw the Minister allegedly aim a firearm at a young relative of his and fire a shot in his direction because the teenager had joined the opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). According to a local weekly newspaper, Nghimtina allegedly said he had raised the young man “with Swapo money” and he should thus not have joined another political party.According to well-placed sources within Swapo, President Pohamba called in Nghimtina on Monday and hauled him over the coals about the shooting incident, telling him it was a grave matter and that a lawmaker and Cabinet Minister could not behave in this manner.”Either you resign or I will force you to resign,” Pohamba reportedly told Nghimtina, who then handed in a letter of resignation and returned his two official vehicles.”There is nothing, please, I did not resign,” Nghimtina told The Namibian yesterday.”I cannot confirm the resignation of Minister Nghimtina,” Dr Ndeutala Angula, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, said late yesterday afternoon and referred this reporter to the Minster of Presidential Affairs, Dr Albert Kawana.”I just hear it from you now,” Minister Kawana told The Namibian.”It is absolutely not true and just speculation.”Joseph Iita, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, also said he did not know about his minister’s resignation.”I am unaware of it I was not informed about that,” Iita said when approached.However, a source close to the Swapo Politburo revealed to The Namibian late yesterday that Pohamba had a meeting on Monday night with a few of the top party leaders, among them Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana.”It was a heavy meeting,” the source said.Apparently Iivula-Ithana strongly lobbied in favour of Nghimtina to retain his positions.After the lobbying Nghimtina was allegedly called in again by President Pohamba in order “to be forgiven and to be only reprimanded” and to withdraw his resignation, which Nghimtina is said to have agreed to.This was supposed to be done in writing, but in the meantime Police officers are said to have approached Nghimtina yesterday and interrogated him on the shooting incident.”He got so angry because of the interrogations, as he was under the impression he had been forgiven, that he told State House that the resignation still stands,” the source said.The issue is now hanging in the air because President Pohamba yesterday afternoon left for Zambia to attend the funeral of the late President Levy Mwanawasa today.It is believed that former President Sam Nujoma paid a visit to State House yesterday afternoon to discuss the matter.Hidipo Hamutenya, interim RDP president, condemned the shooting incident at a press conference on Monday, saying it was a criminal offence and demanding that “the culprit should be brought to book”.RDP interim Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu was equally outspoken and called the shooting “an attempt of murder.”

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