Swapo delays D-Day

SWAPO’S Politburo has earmarked the end of November for the long-awaited extraordinary congress for the election of its President.

Well-placed party sources said Friday’s meeting of the Politburo decided to delay the extraordinary congress until the weekend of the end of November to give the Party machinery enough time for preparations. The congress was originally thought to be planned for mid-2007.Apart from the date of the extraordinary congress, the Party’s leaders also approved a proposal that first Prime Minister Hage Geingob and Health deputy Minister Petrina Haingura be nominated for the two empty seats in the Politburo.These decisions must still be endorsed by the scheduled July 27 meeting of the Central Committee.As far as could be established the Swapo presidential succession issue was not discussed at the Politburo meeting.Geingob and Haingura will replace the late former Speaker of Parliament, Mose Tjitendero, and expelled former Minister Jesaya Nyamu.The latter was expelled in December 2005 by the Politburo after notes, alleging to border on promotion of division, violence and factionalism in the party were found in his office.The notes, expressing thoughts about the possibility of the formation of another political party, were found in Nyamu’s office in 2004.They were written on four small pieces of paper and laid out two options, apparently for supporters of former Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, who was dismissed by Nujoma in the heat of the three-cornered presidential race for alleged ‘unparty activities’.On one piece of paper, Nyamu wrote: “For those still in Government, stay the course till March 21.Effect: endure humiliation; discourage loyalists; allow elections to go ahead as if nothing has taken place; Namibian image less damaged; consolidation of Nujoma’s group.”Option two, he said, was to “quit Government one by one and make strong statements to the press”.Nyamu never denied that he was the author of the notes.The Politburo of Friday also briefly discussed the decision by a group of Swapo members at Okahandja to take the party and its President, Sam Nujoma, to court for removing them from the Town Council.”It was decided that the party must fight that case,” a source said.The proposed expulsion or disciplinary action by Swapo’s Khomas Regional Executive against Ambassador Shapua Kaukungua and Michaela Huebschle in the Windhoek East district was also discussed briefly but no final resolution reached.The two wrote an open letter in February in which they publicly criticised the electoral process for the Swapo primaries and claimed witch-hunts, victimisation and vilification were the order of the day.They claimed that the exclusion and the ostracising of some leaders and members who dared to question a growing cult of personality, heralded dark days for Swapo, and alleged that underhand political machinery at the top of the ruling party was rigging the democratic processes.The congress was originally thought to be planned for mid-2007.Apart from the date of the extraordinary congress, the Party’s leaders also approved a proposal that first Prime Minister Hage Geingob and Health deputy Minister Petrina Haingura be nominated for the two empty seats in the Politburo.These decisions must still be endorsed by the scheduled July 27 meeting of the Central Committee. As far as could be established the Swapo presidential succession issue was not discussed at the Politburo meeting.Geingob and Haingura will replace the late former Speaker of Parliament, Mose Tjitendero, and expelled former Minister Jesaya Nyamu.The latter was expelled in December 2005 by the Politburo after notes, alleging to border on promotion of division, violence and factionalism in the party were found in his office.The notes, expressing thoughts about the possibility of the formation of another political party, were found in Nyamu’s office in 2004.They were written on four small pieces of paper and laid out two options, apparently for supporters of former Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, who was dismissed by Nujoma in the heat of the three-cornered presidential race for alleged ‘unparty activities’.On one piece of paper, Nyamu wrote: “For those still in Government, stay the course till March 21.Effect: endure humiliation; discourage loyalists; allow elections to go ahead as if nothing has taken place; Namibian image less damaged; consolidation of Nujoma’s group.”Option two, he said, was to “quit Government one by one and make strong statements to the press”.Nyamu never denied that he was the author of the notes.The Politburo of Friday also briefly discussed the decision by a group of Swapo members at Okahandja to take the party and its President, Sam Nujoma, to court for removing them from the Town Council.”It was decided that the party must fight that case,” a source said.The proposed expulsion or disciplinary action by Swapo’s Khomas Regional Executive against Ambassador Shapua Kaukungua and Michaela Huebschle in the Windhoek East district was also discussed briefly but no final resolution reached.The two wrote an open letter in February in which they publicly criticised the electoral process for the Swapo primaries and claimed witch-hunts, victimisation and vilification were the order of the day.They claimed that the exclusion and the ostracising of some leaders and members who dared to question a growing cult of personality, heralded dark days for Swapo, and alleged that underhand political machinery at the top of the ruling party was rigging the democratic processes.