President pulls out the stops

PRESIDENT Sam Nujoma has taken to shuttling around the country to try and ensure the succession of Lands Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba after failing to bulldoze his nomination through two Swapo Politburo meetings last month.

The intensity of the President’s campaigning comes after he faced an “open rebellion” and stern words from Swapo pioneer Andimba Toivo ya Toivo in the run-up to the party’s Central Committee meeting, causing him to lose his grip on proceedings, according to information The Namibian has pieced together from a host of interviews. “He was really facing a revolt,” said a person privy to the meetings.As he began chairing the Politburo meeting of Monday, March 29, Nujoma reportedly tried to “appeal” to his colleagues to take only one candidate “for the sake of unity” in the party.He proposed Hifikepunye Pohamba, Swapo’s Vice President.But he was quickly reminded that the meeting was meant to approve procedures for nominations and not to pick candidates.During the following weekend, the President again made an impassioned plea that Pohamba be the sole candidate.This time he offered to relinquish the party presidency too.That was when the oldest member of the Politburo, Ya Toivo, made his views clear, people in the inner circle say.Some claim Ya Toivo told Nujoma to stop treating them like children.But in a wide-ranging interview about his future this week, Ya Toivo denied this and only reluctantly hinted to The Namibian what he had said.”Where did you get that information? What did they tell you,” he initially asked this reporter.”I did just as they told you,” Ya Toivo added.He declined to elaborate.Asked whether he had planned what he would say, Ya Toivo retorted:”Things do come up in meetings.When they come up in meetings we have to respond to the things as they come.”On whether he was opposed to Nujoma’s preferred candidate, the octogenarian said “no”.”All of them are my comrades, but we want to be a democratic party.As a party we must not only preach democracy, we must practice it.”Well, I said we must not only talk about democracy but we must practice it, because there is no point just to keep talking about democracy and you are not practising it.I said, ‘let the playing field be level so that everybody can participate as they want to participate’.I felt that was the right time for me to say that.”Ask me other questions, man,” Ya Toivo added, appearing to recoil, as he did when asked if he intended to retire.Although wide-ranging, Ya Toivo kept returning to the importance of fostering “a democratic society”.Responding at one stage to a question unrelated to the Politburo meeting, he said:”If there is no democracy, everything will go haywire.Everybody will do what he or she wants.”At the end of the interview, Ya Toivo said: “At the moment we are at the crossroads.Comrade President Nujoma is leaving and D-day is coming… and whoever is nominated by the congress as the aspirant President of Namibia, we should, all of us, support that person.”Ya Toivo confirmed that he had nominated the Minister of Higher Education, Employment Creation and Training, Nahas Angula, after the race was thrown open.”He is, for me, [the candidate], yes.But if he doesn’t win, so be it.”The third nominee was Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, picked by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mose Tjitendero.”He was really facing a revolt,” said a person privy to the meetings.As he began chairing the Politburo meeting of Monday, March 29, Nujoma reportedly tried to “appeal” to his colleagues to take only one candidate “for the sake of unity” in the party.He proposed Hifikepunye Pohamba, Swapo’s Vice President.But he was quickly reminded that the meeting was meant to approve procedures for nominations and not to pick candidates.During the following weekend, the President again made an impassioned plea that Pohamba be the sole candidate.This time he offered to relinquish the party presidency too.That was when the oldest member of the Politburo, Ya Toivo, made his views clear, people in the inner circle say.Some claim Ya Toivo told Nujoma to stop treating them like children.But in a wide-ranging interview about his future this week, Ya Toivo denied this and only reluctantly hinted to The Namibian what he had said.”Where did you get that information? What did they tell you,” he initially asked this reporter.”I did just as they told you,” Ya Toivo added.He declined to elaborate.Asked whether he had planned what he would say, Ya Toivo retorted:”Things do come up in meetings.When they come up in meetings we have to respond to the things as they come.”On whether he was opposed to Nujoma’s preferred candidate, the octogenarian said “no”.”All of them are my comrades, but we want to be a democratic party.As a party we must not only preach democracy, we must practice it.”Well, I said we must not only talk about democracy but we must practice it, because there is no point just to keep talking about democracy and you are not practising it.I said, ‘let the playing field be level so that everybody can participate as they want to participate’.I felt that was the right time for me to say that.”Ask me other questions, man,” Ya Toivo added, appearing to recoil, as he did when asked if he intended to retire.Although wide-ranging, Ya Toivo kept returning to the importance of fostering “a democratic society”.Responding at one stage to a question unrelated to the Politburo meeting, he said:”If there is no democracy, everything will go haywire.Everybody will do what he or she wants.”At the end of the interview, Ya Toivo said: “At the moment we are at the crossroads.Comrade President Nujoma is leaving and D-day is coming… and whoever is nominated by the congress as the aspirant President of Namibia, we should, all of us, support that person.”Ya Toivo confirmed that he had nominated the Minister of Higher Education, Employment Creation and Training, Nahas Angula, after the race was thrown open.”He is, for me, [the candidate], yes.But if he doesn’t win, so be it.”The third nominee was Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, picked by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mose Tjitendero.