Kanyetu claims APP ouster due to anti-gay stance

Former All People’s Party (APP) secretary-general Vincent Kanyetu alleges that his expulsion from the party was a result of his unsanctioned public comments against same-sex marriages, which he described as ‘satanic’.

However, at a press briefing this week, the party’s national leadership maintained Kanyetu was expelled for failing to lead the party to new heights, including a lacklustre performance in the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Kanyetu, who was expelled from the party after he was found guilty of six charges levelled against him, maintained that the comments he made during a press conference in Rundu on the same-sex marriage issue, where he condemned the Supreme Court's May ruling in this regard, cast him as an enemy to those within the party who champion gay rights.

"You remember when I had that press conference on the same-sex marriages? That is where the problem started because we have a senior party member who is a chairperson of an organisation that protects the rights of the LGBTQ community," he said in an interview with Namibian Sun on Monday.

"So because of me rejecting the same-sex marriage thing, they decided to go after me, and that is why they decided to get rid of me."

Allegations made

Kanyetu questioned why he was only charged after he criticised same-sex marriages.

"If they say the party lost votes in 2019, why did they not get rid of me after the election? How can they come three years later and blame me for that? Mind you, I was not the face of APP; the president of the party is the face that appears on the ballot," he said.

Kanyetu also claimed that he learnt about an alleged promise made to the party by a foreign donor to provide funding to the party for the upcoming 2024 election if they are able to field an LGBTQ presidential candidate.

Performance found wanting

Party national chairperson Linus Muchila announced Kanyetu’s expulsion from the party on Monday, saying he had been found guilty on six offences.

"Mr Kanyetu has not contributed to the growth of the APP as he claims but rather caused a massive decline in the party’s overall performance. The party structures that were in existence and functional at the time of his appointment as SG in 2016 are now dormant and dysfunctional," Muchile said.

"The current state of the organisation is that we are only organised in six regions out of fourteen political regions."

He added: "The expulsion of Mr Kanyetu from the APP has absolutely nothing to do with his family or relatives but rather his inability to carry out his duties and responsibilities as SG of APP."

Guilty as charged

Kanyetu was previously the secretary-general of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), but was expelled in 2015 over allegations he and two others sold the party’s regional office in Rundu without the consent of the party’s leadership.

Kanyetu, for his part, announced his resignation from the party this past weekend with 200 of his family members. It is believed he jumped ship ahead of his formal expulsion.

"I just want to communicate my resignation from my position as secretary-general and member of both the party and all its organs with immediate effect as of today, 19 August," he said.

Kanyetu was found guilty on charges of negligence in performing his duties as SG; negligence for failing to keep records of loan requisitions; conspiring to form or join a counter-association or party; concealment of information from the party; and inciting unlawful conflicts in terms of the APP’s party code.