Swapo divided over Karibib councillors

SWAPO supporters at Karibib, in the Erongo Region, are divided over the party’s candidate list for councillors.

Since last Wednesday, the town has just more than half a Council since only the opposition candidates were sworn in. Four candidates, one each DTA and CoD and two from the UDF, took their oaths – but not the three Swapo candidates.The placing of candidates on the Swapo list was apparently shuffled around at the last minute and the magistrate in charge of the swearing-in ceremony rejected the list.The party was told to go back and sort out its problems and decide who the three candidates would be.”There are now two Swapo parties at Karibib because of the in-fighting between the candidates,” a source close to the party told The Namibian on Friday.Some Swapo members were apparently unhappy with the order of names on the list as it was registered before the election.They apparently met on Monday night under the leadership of a municipal official and decided to move the names around.On the new list, which was handed to the Magistrate on Wednesday morning, they had moved Aron Ilonga from fourth place to first and Adelheid Swartbooi from seventh to second.The former mayor of Karibib, Melanie Ndjago, had been in the number one spot on the original list and Norman Shikulo second.The source said Alpheus Naruseb, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, had met with the two sides on Wednesday night but they had not reached a compromise.He had gone back to Windhoek to report the state of affairs.Speaking to people at the town, it would appear as if the majority of residents support the original list.It is apparently a group of Karibib-born supporters, also called Mombwetis, who want to change the list.John Nauseb, Swapo branch co-ordinator at Karibib, told The Namibian earlier in the week that the original list was the legal one.He said it was impossible to reshuffle candidates after people had voted for them according to their position on the list.Four candidates, one each DTA and CoD and two from the UDF, took their oaths – but not the three Swapo candidates.The placing of candidates on the Swapo list was apparently shuffled around at the last minute and the magistrate in charge of the swearing-in ceremony rejected the list.The party was told to go back and sort out its problems and decide who the three candidates would be.”There are now two Swapo parties at Karibib because of the in-fighting between the candidates,” a source close to the party told The Namibian on Friday.Some Swapo members were apparently unhappy with the order of names on the list as it was registered before the election.They apparently met on Monday night under the leadership of a municipal official and decided to move the names around.On the new list, which was handed to the Magistrate on Wednesday morning, they had moved Aron Ilonga from fourth place to first and Adelheid Swartbooi from seventh to second.The former mayor of Karibib, Melanie Ndjago, had been in the number one spot on the original list and Norman Shikulo second.The source said Alpheus Naruseb, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, had met with the two sides on Wednesday night but they had not reached a compromise.He had gone back to Windhoek to report the state of affairs.Speaking to people at the town, it would appear as if the majority of residents support the original list.It is apparently a group of Karibib-born supporters, also called Mombwetis, who want to change the list.John Nauseb, Swapo branch co-ordinator at Karibib, told The Namibian earlier in the week that the original list was the legal one.He said it was impossible to reshuffle candidates after people had voted for them according to their position on the list.