Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Banner Left
Banner Right

Swanu threatens Unam about ban on campus politics

Swanu threatens Unam about ban on campus politics

SWANU has told the University of Namibia to drop its policy barring staff from active politics or face action that would expose what it called Unam’s “hypocrisy and malicious intentions”.

Swanu’s secretary for information, Shimbuli Katupose, issued a statement yesterday warning Unam that its actions against staff members participating in active politics were illegal and would be challenged. Late last year Unam informed some staff members who held party office that it had a policy banning such practices.As a result, the Swapo Youth League withdrew its secretary for information, Charles Siyauya, from active leadership.Others still walking on thin ice were Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua and Swanu secretary general Dr Tangeni Iijambo.Former Swapo Women’s Secretary Eunice Iipinge – employed in Unam’s research department – had held the party position for five years before being voted out in December 2006.Swanu said the decision was a “calculated attempt targeting specifically the leadership of the party for harassment”.”This decision will not be tolerated in a free country in which the rights of people to political participation are guaranteed and protected under the Supreme Law of the country,” Katupose said.The party argues that the Unam move tampers with academic freedom upon which universities are founded and Unam must stop “treating its academic staff like voting cattle” that must simply carry party membership cards, attend meetings and vote without adding their own voices to shaping the public discourses.Swanu said some lecturers at Unam were constantly in the media exercising their right to advocate for certain political parties.”This condition of service was contrived hardly a few days after two Swanu comrades assumed leadership positions.It smacks of hypocrisy and malicious intention,” Katupose said.He said Unam could not outlaw politics from a campus where political science was taught as a subject.Unam said earlier that student societies registered with the institution were allowed to do politicking on the campus but staff must steer clear of it.Unam spokesperson Utaara Hoveka said the policy on campus politics only regulates the involvement of administrative and academic staff members and does not cover students.Maamberua is head of department for accounting, auditing and taxation at Unam while Iijambo lectures in the university’s education department.Five days after their election as party office bearers, they received a letter from Unam informing them that they could not be involved in active politics while working there.Late last year Unam informed some staff members who held party office that it had a policy banning such practices.As a result, the Swapo Youth League withdrew its secretary for information, Charles Siyauya, from active leadership.Others still walking on thin ice were Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua and Swanu secretary general Dr Tangeni Iijambo.Former Swapo Women’s Secretary Eunice Iipinge – employed in Unam’s research department – had held the party position for five years before being voted out in December 2006.Swanu said the decision was a “calculated attempt targeting specifically the leadership of the party for harassment”.”This decision will not be tolerated in a free country in which the rights of people to political participation are guaranteed and protected under the Supreme Law of the country,” Katupose said.The party argues that the Unam move tampers with academic freedom upon which universities are founded and Unam must stop “treating its academic staff like voting cattle” that must simply carry party membership cards, attend meetings and vote without adding their own voices to shaping the public discourses.Swanu said some lecturers at Unam were constantly in the media exercising their right to advocate for certain political parties.”This condition of service was contrived hardly a few days after two Swanu comrades assumed leadership positions.It smacks of hypocrisy and malicious intention,” Katupose said.He said Unam could not outlaw politics from a campus where political science was taught as a subject.Unam said earlier that student societies registered with the institution were allowed to do politicking on the campus but staff must steer clear of it.Unam spokesperson Utaara Hoveka said the policy on campus politics only regulates the involvement of administrative and academic staff members and does not cover students.Maamberua is head of department for accounting, auditing and taxation at Unam while Iijambo lectures in the university’s education department.Five days after their election as party office bearers, they received a letter from Unam informing them that they could not be involved in active politics while working there.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News