Political Perspective

THE launch this week of former Prime Minister Hage Geingob’s thesis, which has been published in the form of a booklet, was something of a nostalgic affair.

It brought together old political adversaries and friends from various political groupings who had worked together on the formulation of the Namibian Constitution prior to Independence in 1990. For many, of course, it also brought back memories of what were heady times in our history of a country and a people discovering themselves and taking the first, sometimes faltering, steps towards nationhood.POLITICAL veterans from various political backgrounds whose voices had not been heard for some time were there at the request of Geingob, who of course chaired the Constituent Assembly, which finally brought to life the Constitution which set the framework for our democracy.Two people who significantly weren’t at the book launch (perhaps unsurprisingly) were Presidents past and present.Some of those present included the former NPF leader, Moses Katjiuongua, looking frail but with his public speaking skills as strong as they were in his more youthful days; retired politician Dirk Mudge of the DTA; Swapo veteran Andimba Toivo ya Toivo; Vekuii Rukoro of the former NNF; former Speaker Mosé Tjitendero; current Ministers Pendukeni Ithana and Nickey Iyambo; Norah Schimming-Chase and others from then and now.It was Katjiuongua who best captured the spirit of times past when he reminisced about the man he referred to as the “computerised bulldozer” (Geingob) who had kept them all hard at work for long hours to draft the Independence Constitution, with what Katjiuongua referred to as his jovial yet forceful nature.Pendukeni Ithana spoke of being the only woman on the drafting committee; while Dirk Mudge called for Government to authorise the public release of the records of the Constituent Assembly, a call echoed by Geingob.Mosé Tjitendero said Geingob’s decision to publish his thesis, written on the making of the Namibian Constitution, should encourage others, and perhaps even himself, to put pen to paper about the past.And this is an issue that has been largely skirted by the present and retired leadership, of whom few, and most notably former President Sam Nujoma himself, have written (albeit rather sanitised in his case) books about the struggle and intervening years.Some of the feistiness of the players was evident in their respective recollections of the time between elections and nationhood, but a kind of comfortable tolerance has set in for one another – something almost remarkable given the present deep divisions within the ruling party, Swapo itself.Sometimes it is easier to communicate with old foes than with comrades and allies, it seems, because there was an absence of bitterness among those who were present.There has been an opening up, to a large extent, but it is clear that people are still largely not prepared to write their stories, and it must be noted that time is passing quickly for some of these veterans of the struggle years, from whichever political camps they hail.Perhaps Geingob’s decision to publish his thesis, a work obviously restricted primarily to the task of constitution-making and not venturing into more controversial political terrain (at least not yet!) will in fact motivate others to follow suit, because there remain large segments of our history and our story that have not yet been written.Who best to do this than the people who were there? There may, and surely will be, differences of interpretation in personal remembrances, but this should not obscure the fact that there remains work to be done in this regard, from Ya Toivo through to Nora Schimming-Chase, and they have a wealth of knowledge which should be put at the disposal of the Namibian nation and should not be lost to us.Many have already passed on without telling their stories, and this is leaving gaps in our history.The period under discussion this week marked a turning point in our history.All ‘sons (or daughters) of the soil’, as they were referred to – those who were at war but later made peace – made contributions, to lesser or greater extent, to what lies at the heart of Namibian democracy today.For they were the founding fathers and mothers whose personal stories will only be known if they tell them.For many, of course, it also brought back memories of what were heady times in our history of a country and a people discovering themselves and taking the first, sometimes faltering, steps towards nationhood.POLITICAL veterans from various political backgrounds whose voices had not been heard for some time were there at the request of Geingob, who of course chaired the Constituent Assembly, which finally brought to life the Constitution which set the framework for our democracy.Two people who significantly weren’t at the book launch (perhaps unsurprisingly) were Presidents past and present.Some of those present included the former NPF leader, Moses Katjiuongua, looking frail but with his public speaking skills as strong as they were in his more youthful days; retired politician Dirk Mudge of the DTA; Swapo veteran Andimba Toivo ya Toivo; Vekuii Rukoro of the former NNF; former Speaker Mosé Tjitendero; current Ministers Pendukeni Ithana and Nickey Iyambo; Norah Schimming-Chase and others from then and now.It was Katjiuongua who best captured the spirit of times past when he reminisced about the man he referred to as the “computerised bulldozer” (Geingob) who had kept them all hard at work for long hours to draft the Independence Constitution, with what Katjiuongua referred to as his jovial yet forceful nature.Pendukeni Ithana spoke of being the only woman on the drafting committee; while Dirk Mudge called for Government to authorise the public release of the records of the Constituent Assembly, a call echoed by Geingob.Mosé Tjitendero said Geingob’s decision to publish his thesis, written on the making of the Namibian Constitution, should encourage others, and perhaps even himself, to put pen to paper about the past.And this is an issue that has been largely skirted by the present and retired leadership, of whom few, and most notably former President Sam Nujoma himself, have written (albeit rather sanitised in his case) books about the struggle and intervening years.Some of the feistiness of the players was evident in their respective recollections of the time between elections and nationhood, but a kind of comfortable tolerance has set in for one another – something almost remarkable given the present deep divisions within the ruling party, Swapo itself.Sometimes it is easier to communicate with old foes than with comrades and allies, it seems, because there was an absence of bitterness among those who were present.There has been an opening up, to a large extent, but it is clear that people are still largely not prepared to write their stories, and it must be noted that time is passing quickly for some of these veterans of the struggle years, from whichever political camps they hail.Perhaps Geingob’s decision to publish his thesis, a work obviously restricted primarily to the task of constitution-making and not venturing into more controversial political terrain (at least not yet!) will in fact motivate others to follow suit, because there remain large segments of our history and our story that have not yet been written.Who best to do this than the people who were there? There may, and surely will be, differences of interpretation in personal remembrances, but this should not obscure the fact that there remains work to be done in this regard, from Ya Toivo through to Nora Schimming-Chase, and they have a wealth of knowledge which should be put at the disposal of the Namibian nation and should not be lost to us.Many have already passed on without telling their stories, and this is leaving gaps in our history.The period under discussion this week marked a turning point in our history.All ‘sons (or daughters) of the soil’, as they were referred to – those who were at war but later made peace – made contributions, to lesser or greater extent, to what lies at the heart of Namibian democracy today.For they were the founding fathers and mothers whose personal stories will only be known if they tell them.