‘Beskuldigde Nommer Een’ who defied the odds

On 29 October 1952, Anglican clergyman Petrus Shindabi Nandi and his wife Nekoto welcomed their ninth child – a girl they named Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi.

Born in a family of 13 children at Onamutai village in modern-day Oshana Region, Netumbo, as we will call her in this profile, grew up in what many would consider a confusing environment.

Confusing because her household preached both religion and culture, while the big trees in the vicinity of her house provided an escape from the scorching sun of ‘Owamboland’ to Swapo activists like Kaxumba Kandola, who held political rallies in the shade as the liberation struggle and disobedience against the status quo climaxed.

Netumbo grew up into a mixed bag of religion, culture and politics, all at once.

“After church, we would go and listen,” she said of the political rallies, as quoted by Namibia Today.

“These are the things that motivated me, until I officially got my membership card in 1966.”

Some 56 years to the day she obtained her Swapo membership, Netumbo is in the frame to become Namibia’s next president.

But there is a minefield to traverse – first at the Swapo congress in November and, if successful, against armies of opposition adversaries seeking residence at Laurent Desire Kabila Street in Auasblick.

Proponents of a Netumbo presidency believe she has the zeal, tenacity and history of both defiance and resilience on her side. And these are key ingredients, they said, to defy the odds and rise to the top.

First political role

Still wet behind the ears, Netumbo’s first known active political role was when she became chairperson of the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) in Owamboland in 1970. That’s where she cut her political teeth.

But perhaps the turning point was her arrest in 1972 after she and other youths led a general workers strike that resulted in the burning of veterinary kraals in the north.

“That was the day some of us were picked up and imprisoned at Ondangwa, whilst some of our comrades were sent to the traditional authorities to handle them. I was among those who remained in custody and appeared before court,” she told Namibia Today.

She was ‘Beskuldigde Nommer Een’ (accused number one) in the matter, a term that later became her nickname among her peers. After she was sentenced to a suspended prison term of three years, she escaped into exile in 1974.

In exile, she occupied various positions, but it is in post-independence Namibia where the average voter – especially younger generations – would remember her roles in government and Swapo.

Post-independence roles

After independence, Netumbo was deputy minister of foreign affairs between 1990 and 1996, before becoming director of women’s affairs between 1996 and 2000. She got her first taste of Cabinet in 2000 when she became the minister of women’s affairs, a portfolio she held until 2005.

Growing in stature, she became the minister of information in 2005 until 2010, and then spent two years at the tourism ministry before ascending to the international relations ministry in 2012, a position she holds today – in addition to being deputy prime minister.

Congress prospects

After being drafted into President Hage Geingob’s slate ahead of the 2017 congress, Netumbo ascended to the position of Swapo vice-president, ideally making her heir apparent to the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.

She is understood to have courted Geingob to publicly endorse her for the position, but the head of state has seemingly had other ideas. Just a week ago, Geingob’s office broke its silence by declaring that he will not endorse Netumbo – or anyone else, for that matter.

But observers believe Geingob is being disingenuous with this stance. Indications so far show he clearly wants his defence minister Frans Kapofi as his successor for State House and the coming weeks are likely to vindicate this view.

‘Clean hands’

Netumbo’s integrity is seen to be beyond reproach. Even an extensive Google search is not likely to lead one to headlines of corruption involving her name, unlike many of her Cabinet peers. Her supporters believe it’s time Namibia had a president with a ‘squeaky clean’ history.

But three things stand in her way. The first is Geingob’s desertion of her campaign in her hour of need. She is thus robbed of the influence and power of the incumbency that was instrumental in propelling Geingob and his predecessor Hifikepunye Pohamba to the presidential throne.

Second, the dust refuses to settle around her age. She is turning 70 in October – an age considered by some as too advanced for the job of president. This despite the fact that, if successful in 2025, she will be one year younger than Geingob was when he became president in 2015.

Pohamba turned 70 the year he was elected, while founding president Sam Nujoma turned a sprightly 61.

Third, as one analyst pointed out yesterday, “Swapo is not ready for a female president yet. Maybe the country is, but Swapo is not”.

They added: “I don’t think many people, including the media, realise this, but Kapofi is the biggest threat in this entire race because he has Hage’s backing.”

On a lighter note

When she’s not airborne attending to her international relations duties, Netumbo is an avid reader. But with the rainy season approaching, she said she will also enjoy working the land at Onheleiwa yaNghiwete in the Okongo area, where her family happily lives.

“Sport-wise, I enjoy squash and netball. But on a personal level, I like exercising, which nowadays I do through walking,” she told Namibian Sun.

This is the first in a series of profiles on the Swapo vice-presidential candidates, as confirmed at the party’s central committee meeting last weekend.