Court case against Swapo fails

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s designation as Swapo’s presidential candidate for the upcoming elections was challenged in the Windhoek High Court yesterday by five members of the party.In the court application, the members attempted to have the designation set aside and also requested the court to compel Swapo to hold an extraordinary congress. The five members - Reinhold Shipwikineni, Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Joshua Vaino Martins, Erich Chrismann Shivute and Aina Kalimba Angula - claimed that Nandi-Ndaitwah was irregularly named as Swapo&#039;s presidential candidate. They further accused Swapo and its leaders of violating the party&#039;s constitution by postponing an extraordinary congress to 2025 after the death of party president Hage Geingob in February.Swapo&#039;s constitution requires that in a situation like this, an extraordinary congress must be convened within 90 days after the death of the party&#039;s leader to elect a new president. The succession policy further stipulates that the party&#039;s president is the automatic presidential candidate in the national elections, unless they are ineligible.Short-livedHowever, the urgent application was short-lived as Judge Eileen Rakow dismissed it with costs yesterday.Representing the party, lawyer Sisa Namandje highlighted procedural issues in the application. He further argued that the application was frivolous and requested the court to dismiss it.Titus Ipumbu, representing the applicants, asked the court for more time to complete their answering affidavit and address the procedural issues therein. He explained to the court that he did not have enough time to submit this document as the party only submitted its response to the application on Sunday evening at around 22:00.Namandje opposed the request for more time and pointed out that the urgent application was submitted on Friday afternoon while party members were campaigning in Mariental. He and fellow lawyer Gilroy Kasper, who worked with him on the case, apparently had to drive back from Mariental through the night to submit an affidavit.Rakow emphasised in her ruling that it was Ipumbu who brought the application and set the date and time for the hearing. She further ruled that the application was not properly brought before the court. She struck the application from the roll and ordered the applicants to pay the costs.The application was brought against Nandi-Ndaitwah, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Efraim Nekongo and the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia, Dr Elsie Nghikembua.– kristien@nmh-hub.com.na

Court case against Swapo fails

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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Court case against Swapo fails

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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