Ex-rival Iivula-Ithana urges Namibia to build on Geingob's vision

The woman who twice challenged the late Hage Geingob for Swapo's presidency and was later dismissed from Cabinet during his administration has become one of the strongest voices calling for the preservation of his intellectual legacy.

Speaking at the inaugural Dr Hage Geingob Town Hall Conversation on Monday, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said Geingob's contributions should not be dismissed simply because many of the reforms he envisioned never fully materialised during his presidency.

"Many of the concepts that Dr Hage Geingob articulated were theoretical. Some of them have not yet borne fruit, but they are fundamentally important," she said.

"If scholars can build upon those ideas and translate them into practical reforms within our governance institutions and structures, thereby strengthening our institutions, then we will make meaningful progress."

Her remarks carried added significance given the political rivalry that defined much of their relationship within Swapo.

Iivula-Ithana twice challenged Geingob for the party's top position, first at the fiercely contested 2012 Swapo congress and again in 2017, when she aligned herself with former youth minister Jerry Ekandjo against Geingob's preferred slate. Geingob prevailed on both occasions.

Although Geingob retained Iivula-Ithana and Ekandjo in Cabinet after becoming president following the 2014 general election, both ministers were dismissed from Cabinet in 2018 after publicly criticising some of his flagship government programmes, including the food bank initiative.

Supporters of Iivula-Ithana maintained at the time that she was entitled, during the internal party campaign, to advance alternative policy proposals without facing political consequences once the contest had ended.

Following Geingob's death in February 2024, Iivula-Ithana spoke publicly about their relationship and the reconciliation she had hoped would one day take place.

Seeking answers

In an emotional interview with Namibian Sun shortly after Geingob's passing, she revealed that she had never considered their relationship beyond repair and had hoped they would eventually reconcile.

"I never believed that Comrade Hage and I had differed indefinitely," she said at the time.

"I was always looking forward to a moment when the two of us were going to sit down and talk about what had happened."

She admitted Geingob's death robbed her of the opportunity to find answers and closure.

"This came unexpectedly and leaves me hurt because I thought we would sit down and ask, 'Comrade, what happened?' I am sorry, and we could move on. God's wish is not our wish."

The renewed praise from one of Geingob's fiercest internal political rivals comes as Namibia continues to assess the legacy of the country's third president.

New social compact

When Geingob led Swapo to victory in the 2014 presidential and National Assembly elections, he secured the strongest electoral mandate in Namibia's democratic history.

Positioning himself as the "president for prosperity" after Sam Nujoma's era of stability and Hifikepunye Pohamba's emphasis on continuity, Geingob promised inclusive economic transformation and a new social compact.

Central to that vision was his concept of the "Namibian House", which called on citizens to collectively build an inclusive nation in which no one would feel excluded. In his inaugural address, Geingob urged Namibians to continuously "renew" and strengthen that shared national house.

During his presidency, however, a sluggish economy, prolonged drought, tightening public finances and the Covid-19 pandemic constrained government programmes, while unemployment and inequality remained persistently high.

His second-term victory in the 2019 presidential election was accompanied by Swapo's weakest electoral performance since independence, with the party also losing its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

Geingob's presidency was also overshadowed by the Fishrot corruption scandal, which led to criminal prosecutions and intensified scrutiny of governance. Although Geingob consistently pledged to combat corruption, critics argued that the gap between the government's anti-corruption commitments and public perceptions undermined confidence in his administration.

Against that backdrop, Iivula-Ithana urged Namibians not to judge Geingob's legacy solely by the shortcomings of implementation but to recognise the intellectual foundation he laid for future generations.

She said Namibia possesses capable thinkers who should build on those ideas instead of allowing them to fade.

"What I would like to say is that we as Namibians should appreciate the brilliant minds among us and build upon them as we progress into the future," she said.

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