Ekandjo slams political speeches at NAMAs

Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) executive chairman Tim Ekandjo has cautioned local artists against using the platform to express their political views. This follows some artists using their acceptance speeches over the past weekend to call on people to vote for the ruling party Swapo. Ekandjo added that the political slogans shouted on stage during the live broadcast of the awards this past weekend in Swakopmund had caught the executive committee &ldquo;completely unaware&rdquo;. &ldquo;These artists always surprise us. I did not expect it and I do not want to make a fuss about it. However, the NAMAs are a musical platform, where we celebrate music and not a political arena,&rdquo; said Ekandjo. He added that &ldquo;artists must stop making a mockery of the NAMAs&rdquo;. On Saturday, Song of the Year winner The Dogg, who also bagged a Special Recognition and Best House award, urged his fans on more than one occasion to vote for Swapo, as it was the right thing to do. Gazza, who won the Best Music Video and Best Male Artist categories, also called on Namibians to vote for the &ldquo;right party&rdquo;. He was handed his Best Male Artist award by Prime Minister Dr Hage Geingob. Ekandjo said prior to the future awards ceremonies, artists will be engaged and educated on how to maintain and respect the NAMAs musical spirit. This will be done at a workshop to be held annually. &ldquo;We will engage our artists and educate them to ensure that they maintain and respect this spirit in which we gather at the NAMAs, and the common denominator should be that music unifies us. We will therefore include this in our nominee workshop next year to ensure it does not repeat itself.&rdquo;

Ekandjo slams political speeches at NAMAs

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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Ekandjo slams political speeches at NAMAs

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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