Ruling party lifts Kapia’s suspension

MORE than four years after he was unceremoniously fired as Deputy Minister of Works, removed from Parliament and suspended as a Swapo Party member, Paulus Kapia is back in the party’s circles and can be vocal again.

The ruling party’s weekend Central Committee meeting decided to lift Kapia’s suspension, which was announced in September 2005 Party Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said Kapia is now allowed to take part in all party activities.Although the party’s CC only lifted the suspension now, Kapia had already made a cameo appearance at a recent Swapo Party Youth League central committee meeting in Swakop-mund recently, where he addressed them.Kapia was suspended pending an investigation into his alleged involvement in the Avid-SSC scandal in which N$30 million went missing.Kapia, a former director of Avid, was alleged to have used his political influence to ensure that the SSC would invest N$30 million with the investment company.In addition, N$40 000 in cash was alleged to have been sent his way by the wife of the Avid Investment CEO, the late Lazarus Kandara. Kapia’s criminal prosecution is still pending in the High Court but Ithana said his suspension at party level was done to allow for an investigation which has seemingly been concluded.’On the basis of the outcome of an internal investigation, the CC felt to lift the suspension,’ Ithana said.Kapia was the shortest serving Deputy Minister yet, with only six months in the position before his political career went into freefall with the Avid-SSC scandal.He has always said that he and other directors had been unaware of the transactions that took place between the late Avid CEO Kandara and Namangol Investments’ CEO Nico Josea.christof@namibian.com.na