Swapo removes convicted MP from list

THE top four office bearers of Swapo have dropped one of the parliament-bound candidates from the party list on the eve of the swearing-in of parliamentarians.

The Namibian understands that the party’s top four – President Hifikepunye Pohamba, vice-president Hage Geingob, secretary general Nangolo Mbumba and deputy secretary general Laura McLeod-Katjirua – decided to chop Marina Kandumbu from the National Assembly list, and not the Politburo which has the authority to do so.

This decision apparently was based on her conviction on corruption charges at Rundu on 11 November last year.

Sources said this decision was only taken last Friday evening, despite the fact that they had known of her conviction for several months.

Kandumbu was charged and convicted of a case of corruption shortly before the elections in November last year. She is number 70 on the Swapo Party list of 77 candidates elected to go to the National Assembly.

Kandumbu, who was employed as an education planner for the Ministry of Education in Rundu in the Kavango East region, resigned from her government position since she was preparing to go to parliament.

She has not responded to questions sent by The Namibian despite earlier promising interviews. The latest development in the ruling party has put her future in the balance as she now will never stand a chance of becoming a member of parliament.

This is the second time the party’s top four has made a decision which is the responsibility of the Politburo. The first was the suspension of the three Swapo party youth league leaders for their role in advocating land to be made accessible to the masses.

Swapo secretary general Nangolo Mbumba declined to comment yesterday. He, however, said the party will make an announcement today on the final list of Swapo parliamentarians.

Mbumba told The Namibian in January that the party was investigating Kandumbu’s case. She was convicted under the Anti-Corruption Act for using her position in government for personal gratification. The case dragged on for four years before it was concluded. The charges originate from her renting out a government subsidised house.

Magistrate Helen Olaiya found Kandumbu guilty and sentenced her to five years imprisonment or a fine of N$100 000. Four years or N$90 000 was suspended and she ended up paying a N$10 000 fine.

The sentence was suspended on condition that Kandumbu repaid the Ministry of Education N$87 887 in 31 installments from 27 November last year to May or June 2017.

Part of the suspended sentence was a condition that she is not convicted of crimes under the Anti-Corruption Act for a period of five years.

The Namibian has learned that a section of the Swapo leadership is unhappy with the way the top four handled the case. A senior party source said it was questionable why the party’s top leadership did not consult or inform structures such as the Politburo or the Central Committee, which have the power to make such decisions.

Sources also said that Kandumbu was contemplating taking the issue up with her lawyers as her constitutional rights might have been violated.

The sources pointed to Article 47 of the Namibian Constitution which states that an individual is disqualified from becoming a member of parliament if they have been convicted of an offence and served a prison term of more than 12 months without an option of a fine. In her case she was given an option of a fine.

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