Swapo presidential race hit by charges of bias

TENSION is mounting in the top echelons of Swapo over accusations that the party machinery and State resources are being harnessed to advance Vice President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s campaign to become the presidential candidate.

Supporters of one of the other two candidates have pointed to a possible conflict of interest. They say Pohamba is in charge of a committee preparing for the extraordinary congress at the end of the month and that, as part of the process, he was writing letters – moves that are perceived to boost his candidacy.Pohamba has refused to answer questions by this reporter.Instead, he threatened to sue if a story was written about him.Pohamba, the Minister of Lands, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, was chosen as a presidential candidate last month along with Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation Minister Nahas Angula and Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya.The Swapo vice president is already considered to have a huge advantage, mainly because President Sam Nujoma nominated him and is said to be driving his campaign.Nujoma, according to supporters of the other candidates, has personally been telling delegates who to vote for and has used official visits to promote his choice.Some claim that the list of delegates is being kept secret with only people known to support Pohamba having full access and being allowed to chop and change it.In some cases, it is alleged, Nujoma loyalists were “hijacking” events at which Pohamba’s fellow competitors were meant to officiate.Further, a committee dealing with security, protocol and accreditation is said to be packed with Nujoma loyalists.Among the members of the committee are National Intelligence chief Peter Tshirumbu, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo, State protocol chief Patrick Nandago, Defence Minister Erkki Nghimtina, Environment Minister Philemon Malima, National Intelligence director Andrew Intamba and Swapo Youth League chief Paulus Kapia.”They [Nujoma and Pohamba] command the party, they command the Government.If you understand that, the rest becomes detail,” said a campaigner close to one of the candidates.Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange and Secretary for Information and Mobilisation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah have both dismissed charges that party structures were being used to give Pohamba an unfair advantage.Both Nghimtina, who heads the committee on protocol, accreditation and security, and head of the intelligence unit, Tsheehama, said allegations that they had been placed there to ensure that Pohamba won were “rubbish”.”We are neutral,” said Tsheehama about the Central Intelligence Service.Nghimtina said he was in charge of the committee as Swapo Secretary for Defence and Security.”I don’t care who wins… it’s only a democratic process.If you are popular you’ll remain popular.Popularity is built over a long time and you can’t change people’s minds overnight.”I am doing this for Swapo and not for any individual,” said Nghimtina.Ndaitwah said she had not heard complaints about unfairness or unacceptable campaigning, adding that they should in any case be directed to the office of the Secretary General.The committee that Pohamba heads had always been chaired by the vice president of Swapo.”This is an accepted procedure within the party.Even the other candidates are members of the committee,” she said.Ndaitwah said Pohamba would not be the person assigning different tasks to people organising the congress.Tjiriange said Pohamba was not involved in matters such as the elections or the delegates’ list.Delegates who attended the last Congress in 2002 would again attend the upcoming event, except in cases where new people were voted in afterwards.Tjiriange denied, for instance, that Kapia had been put in charge of finalising the list and was keeping it from the candidates’ supporters.”It’s a function of bad management rather than secrecy,” said a backer of one of the nominees.”We have told our man that he must go to the old man and register our concerns,” said another.Tjiriange said:”I think it’s an orchestrated campaign trying to discredit the whole process.”He said some of the people complaining were not in the structures of the party.”The problem is that when we were in the struggle, these things never happened because there was no money involved.Now, its not… patriotism that drives them, it is ‘I must fight to get that cheque’.That is the consideration now,” he charged.They say Pohamba is in charge of a committee preparing for the extraordinary congress at the end of the month and that, as part of the process, he was writing letters – moves that are perceived to boost his candidacy.Pohamba has refused to answer questions by this reporter.Instead, he threatened to sue if a story was written about him.Pohamba, the Minister of Lands, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, was chosen as a presidential candidate last month along with Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation Minister Nahas Angula and Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya.The Swapo vice president is already considered to have a huge advantage, mainly because President Sam Nujoma nominated him and is said to be driving his campaign.Nujoma, according to supporters of the other candidates, has personally been telling delegates who to vote for and has used official visits to promote his choice.Some claim that the list of delegates is being kept secret with only people known to support Pohamba having full access and being allowed to chop and change it.In some cases, it is alleged, Nujoma loyalists were “hijacking” events at which Pohamba’s fellow competitors were meant to officiate.Further, a committee dealing with security, protocol and accreditation is said to be packed with Nujoma loyalists.Among the members of the committee are National Intelligence chief Peter Tshirumbu, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo, State protocol chief Patrick Nandago, Defence Minister Erkki Nghimtina, Environment Minister Philemon Malima, National Intelligence director Andrew Intamba and Swapo Youth League chief Paulus Kapia.”They [Nujoma and Pohamba] command the party, they command the Government.If you understand that, the rest becomes detail,” said a campaigner close to one of the candidates.Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange and Secretary for Information and Mobilisation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah have both dismissed charges that party structures were being used to give Pohamba an unfair advantage.Both Nghimtina, who heads the committee on protocol, accreditation and security, and head of the intelligence unit, Tsheehama, said allegations that they had been placed there to ensure that Pohamba won were “rubbish”.”We are neutral,” said Tsheehama about the Central Intelligence Service.Nghimtina said he was in charge of the committee as Swapo Secretary for Defence and Security.”I don’t care who wins… it’s only a democratic process.If you are popular you’ll remain popular.Popularity is built over a long time and you can’t change people’s minds overnight.”I am doing this for Swapo and not for any individual,” said Nghimtina.Ndaitwah said she had not heard complaints about unfairness or unacceptable campaigning, adding that they should in any case be directed to the office of the Secretary General.The committee that Pohamba heads had always been chaired by the vice president of Swapo.”This is an accepted procedure within the party.Even the other candidates are members of the committee,” she said.Ndaitwah said Pohamba would not be the person assigning different tasks to people organising the congress.Tjiriange said Pohamba was not involved in matters such as the elections or the delegates’ list.Delegates who attended the last Congress in 2002 would again attend the upcoming event, except in cases where new people were voted in afterwards.Tjiriange denied, for instance, that Kapia had been put in charge of finalising the list and was keeping it from the candidates’ supporters.”It’s a function of bad management rather than secrecy,” said a backer of one of the nominees.”We have told our man that he must go to the old man and register our concerns,”
said another.Tjiriange said:”I think it’s an orchestrated campaign trying to discredit the whole process.”He said some of the people complaining were not in the structures of the party.”The problem is that when we were in the struggle, these things never happened because there was no money involved.Now, its not… patriotism that drives them, it is ‘I must fight to get that cheque’.That is the consideration now,” he charged.