Shaningwa threatens Swapo members

SWAPO secretary general Sophia Shaningwa has threatened to deal decisively with members who have taken the party to court over the outcome of the 2017 elective congress.

Shaningwa said the drawn-out court battle has caused her sleepless nights, and was draining the party’s coffers.

She made these remarks on Saturday during the launch of the election campaign for the Swapo party candidate for the upcoming Oshakati East constituency by-elections, Abner Shikongo (64).

The by-election was necessitated by the death of Lotto Kuushomwa on 27 May.

Shaningwa claimed that the ongoing court case was also diminishing the party’s ability to contribute to the government’s drought relief programme, because it (the case) was costly.

She said the party has so far spent more than N$8 million on the case.

could, however, not confirm this figure.

Swapo’s lawyer on the case, Dirk Conradie, yesterday refused to confirm the exact amounts the party paid him in legal costs, and referred to Shaningwa for confirmation.

Swapo members Mirjam Shituu­la and Selma Namboga are asking the court to declare the ruling party’s sixth elective congress held in November 2017, as well as the outcomes of that congress, unlawful and unconstitutional or invalid. The 2017 elective congress elected president Hage Geingob as party leader, among others.

“Why are you wasting Swapo’s resources to fight over useless things? That money could’ve been used for a good cause; the party could have made an effort to contribute that money to help fight the ongoing, devastating drought effects. That court case is causing me, as the secretary general of the party, to have sleepless nights,” she stated. The ruling party is currently building a N$730 million headquarters in Windhoek. Shaningwa, therefore, threatened the disgruntled members to drop the case, or else the party will go toe-to-toe with them.

“Drop your case. Swapo will fight you, and you will never get it right. You will never win. If you don’t drop the case, you will keep on spending all your money, but Swapo’s coffers will never run dry,” she stressed.

Efforts to get comment from Shituula and Namboga proved fruitless. Nambata Angula, who is no longer an applicant in the matter, told that Shaningwa must find other means to conduct public fights.

“She must follow the right channels, and that’s between her and the party. I can’t comment on something that is still before the court,” she said.

Angula added that they are not moved by Shaningwa’s threats.

“We know our constitutional rights in this country, and we cannot just be threatened by people like that,” she stressed. The matter was postponed to 2 August in the High Court last week.

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