Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa has defended the party’s leadership skills, emphasising that proficiency in English does not determine effectiveness.
Speaking at a rally at Okongo on Saturday, Shaningwa addressed critics who question Swapo leaders’ English fluency, asserting that their capabilities extend far beyond language proficiency.
“We understand that some people were sent to school by Swapo but we cannot allow people to brag that those of us who are not speaking English are useless. It cannot be that way, we are not useless,” Shaningwa said.
“They are there speaking too much English. The country is not liberated with English, man. English, English, English! People vote for their leaders because they love their country, they are serious and know why it is important and who know that their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters died for the liberation of this country.”
Shaningwa said there was no time to go to school when people were at war, thus some cannot speak English.
“There was only time to defeat and fight the enemy and to free Namibia. Those that went to school then, that is your own problem. We could not go there, we were busy fighting the enemy,” Shaningwa added.
According to Shaningwa, they could not go to school because there would have been nobody to engage the enemy and make them surrender to Swapo.
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