Amupanda, Mensah-Williams in Facebook tiff

National Council deputy chairperson Magreth Mensah-Williams and Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) spokesperson Job Amupanda have become embroiled in a bitter Facebook fight. The verbal jousting follows an article by Namibian Sun yesterday that Prime Minister Hage Geingob has embraced the digital age by opening a Twitter account. Amupanda, who expressed happiness on his Facebook profile about Geingob joining the Twittersphere, used the opportunity to take a vicious swipe at Mensah-Williams by saying that this gives her little room to manipulate the ruling party’s central committee in the future. Mensah-Williams responded saying someone should tell Amupanda to “get manners”. She also said Amupanda should accept the outcome of the Swapo elective congress in 2012 and that he must “move on”. Namibian Sun tried to get hold of Mensah-Williams and Amupanda, but they are in Switzerland and South Africa respectively, and could not be reached for comment. In his post, which began the tiff, Amupanda said he is delighted that the party leadership is slowly but surely embracing technology. He said the fact that Geingob opened a Twitter account is good news for the youth, who want to engage with their “incoming president” directly. “It now gives people like Magreth Mensah and her crew little room in manipulating the elders at meetings such as the CC where they factionally read out our posts without telling the truth (sic),” Amupanda said. After about five hours, Amupanda’s post had received 27 likes and 11 comments. Sioni Aluta Iikela, a SPYL national executive committee member, wrote: “Their time for manipulation is becoming things of the past (sic).” About three hours later Mensah-Williams wrote on her wall that someone must tell Amupanda to “go look for his manners”. “I did not grow up by myself. I have manners… I never lied about what he and his crew wrote on Facebook,” Mensah-Williams wrote. According to her, President Hifikepunye Pohamba had printouts of what Amupanda and “his crew” wrote on their Facebook walls. She added that the Head of State was the one who “showed and read” the SPYL’s Facebook updates “at the CC meeting of the party’s extraordinary congress”. “If he has problems with me or anyone else in the party leadership we have a competent disciplinary committee. I place it here because he made it a Facebook issue but I will not indulge in a fight with someone young enough to be my son. “I am an elected CC member so please deal with it. The congress is long over, accept the outcome and move on. I will pray for you irrespective.”