God told me to run for president - Angula

Former deputy executive director in the finance ministry Ally Angula, who announced in May that she will run for president in the 2024 national elections as an independent candidate, said God instructed her to contest.

Speaking on The Evening Review on Monday, Angula said apart from the Godly directive, she has visions of what Namibia should look like.

“About three years ago, and this might sound very odd, I had a dream. And in that dream, I was being told that I must run for the presidency. So, I guess it is the Lord that nudged me,” she said on the show.

She added: “The Bible says that [God] chooses His people and He has given me a very daunting, heavy task. I've met a lot of people who are telling me I’m very brave. I think we are all brave,” she said.

Angula said contesting as an independent candidate means her supporters do not have to leave their ‘political homes’.

Swapo, with its liberation history, might still get more votes as a party, she said, but insisted that the presidency needs someone with a new vision.

National unity

“We're not going to convince somebody comfortable in a party, where their tribe is, to switch. I think we also need to get to the point where we pull on the strengths of different tribes. And if that is the thinking that I have, the only way to get us to that point of unity is to have a government of national unity, where everybody's voice is heard,” she said.

“We've got this immensely blessed country, so rich in so many things. We cannot have poor people. So, for me, we need to have a different driver for the vehicle. I don't think we've got challenges that you can solve with committees,” she added.

The aspiring independent candidate who comes from a Swapo upbringing said she knows she will be kicked out of the ruling party because of her candidacy – which happened to Dr Panduleni Itula when he stood as an independent candidate in 2019 and gave party candidate Hage Geingob a run for his money.

She said she is not shaken by the prospect of expulsion.

“For me, the stronger voice is the voice of the Lord saying ‘run’. And if the only vehicle available to run is to do so as an independent candidate, then I’ll run as an independent.”

Financial woes

Angula, who announced her presidency bid on her YouTube channel earlier this year, said her decision is not a shortcut to sourcing the money she owes creditors.

This after First Lady Monica Geingos dragged her to court over unpaid loans worth N$800 000. She is also being haunted by Nedbank Namibia over a loan – now worth N$4.7 million – that she allegedly took from that bank in 2014. This matter is also currently in court.

Although being president comes with attractive perks, Angula said she was not seeking that position to overcome her financial woes.

“There is one particular matter that I unfortunately at this point cannot really go into detail [about] because we are entering now the second part of the trial.

“I am anticipating a positive outcome based on the part of the trial that we just did [at the] beginning of August. And from that, I am anticipating that we will be able to settle the bulk of those surety debts that I signed for on behalf of other businesses.”