Swapo is facing internal division following a failed court bid to evict former freedom fighters who have been camping at the party’s national headquarters.
The group has been camping at the party’s head office since October last year.
They have been demanding answers regarding funds they claim were given to the party to assist exiled Namibians returning home before independence.
An urgent application in which Swapo tried to obtain a court order for the eviction of the group at the party’s national headquarters last October failed in the Windhoek High Court.
The party’s application was struck off the High Court’s roll by judge Gabriel Komboni on Thursday.
Former Swapo secretary general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana over the weekend questioned the legitimacy of the decision to pursue legal action against the group.
In a voice note shared on WhatsApp over the weekend, she said such a move should have been decided by the party’s central committee.
Iivula-Ithana, who is also a member of the central committee, said major decisions within Swapo are taken by that body, not the politburo.
“The body that is supposed to make decisions is the central committee. The politburo is not a decision-making body. It implements the decisions of the central committee.
“The central committee has never decided to take freedom fighters to court. Never. That issue was never brought before the central committee,” she said.
The former secretary general wanted to know who authorised the legal action, saying she has not received any explanation.
‘IT HURTS MANY OF US’
“Who decided to take former freedom fighters to court? Who did it? Up to now I have not gotten a response . . . it hurts many of us. It embarrasses us to see what is happening, yet we as leaders do not know what had happened. It’s painful,” she said.
Iivula-Ithana said any decision to litigate on behalf of the party requires a mandate from the central committee, including the granting of power of attorney.
“The power of attorney is granted by the central committee because the lawyer representing the party will need to be paid. No individual has the right to say Swapo’s money should be used in that manner, but there is no power of attorney,” she said.
She said she shared the voice note after a man, whom she suspects to be a former freedom fighter, claimed the central committee had approved the decision to take the camping former People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan) combatants to court.
POLITBURO
Swapo deputy secretary general Uahekua Herunga says the decision to take the matter to court was taken by the politburo, which runs the affairs of the party on a daily basis.
“The central committee is a policymaker of the party. The political bureau did not initiate any policy of the party. We simply follow the procedures of the party to decide we must do a, b, or c. That was the political bureau,” he says.
Herunga yesterday refused to comment further, saying Iivula-Ithana is entitled to her own views.
“She is my senior, I don’t argue with my seniors. Let my senior keep her views,” he said.
Swapo spokesperson Hilma Nicanor was not able to comment on the matter, saying she was in a meeting.
Swapo stalwart Nahas Angula yesterday said the camping group is in social distress and the party must negotiate with them to solve the matter.
“We should not try to solve our political problems through courts. Let’s sit down with these people and see who can be perhaps be given a resettlement farm and who can get these veteran salvation perhaps.
“A person receiving N$2 000 . . . perhaps it can be increased to N$5 000. That’s the only way to address this question,” Angula said.
‘NO MONEY’
Angula also denied that the United Nations gave Swapo money for ex-combatants.
He said during the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, Swapo was no longer recognised as the sole representative of the Namibian people, making it unlikely that such funds would have been given directly to the party.
If any funds were provided, they would likely have been given to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, Nicolas Bwakira, who died in 2021, Angula said.
Swapo wants the court to declare the unauthorised occupation of its national headquarters and adjacent pavement area in Windhoek unlawful, and to order the eviction of the demonstrators.
The party is seeking an order compelling the group to remove their tents and belongings and vacate the premises.
According to an affidavit filed by party secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, the demonstrators have remained at the headquarters since 22 October and have refused to leave until their demands are addressed.
In January, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Namibia, Kavita Belani, informed the group that the agency provided basic assistance to support the initial reintegration of Namibian returnees in 1989.
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