‘Much ado about nothing’

STAFF REPORTERThe presidency has hit back following a public outcry over President Hage Geingob’s inauguration of his personal lawyer Sisa Namandje’s new offices recently, claiming the criticism was “much ado about nothing”.It also said it was “simply another case of perpetual cynics looking to critique each and every move of the head of state, in an attempt to lessen the impact that his leadership has had”.Namandje, who is awash in government work and acted for Russian oligarch Rashid Sardarov when he received the go-ahead to lease four Namibian farms for 99 years, which he had purchased for the Namibian government, was also the returning officer for the disputed 2017 Swapo elective congress.The congress is the subject of an ongoing court battle instituted by disgruntled members, who claim that the top four and CC elections were fundamentally flawed and unlawful.Mirjam Shituula and Selma Namboga, also acting on behalf of Swapo leaders Nambata Angula and Seth Boois, claim in High Court papers that the congress, which elected Geingob as party president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as vice-president, Shaningwa as secretary-general and Marco Hausiku as deputy SG, was a nest of irregularities.They had also unsuccessfully tried to halt the Swapo extraordinary that took place earlier this month.In their founding affidavit, the group claimed material irregularities were unearthed during the 2017 congress, which included at least eight regional governors unlawfully participating, as well as four Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) delegates being allowed to stand for the central committee when they were no longer eligible to be members of the youth wing as they were over 35, while governors are ex officio members of the regional executive committees. Interestingly, the presidency, in its fierce rebuttal of criticism against Geingob inaugurating Namandje’s new offices on 7 December, says critics have been gunning for the head of state ever since his “resounding victory in the 2014 presidential elections, up until the recent sixth Swapo elective congress, where defeatists have sought to undermine, distort and misrepresent his character”. “It was least expected that such a joyous and important occasion celebrating an achievement by a hardworking, formerly disadvantaged and young legal professional would be politicised and subjected to inarticulate criticism which, instead of highlighting the event as one of the Namibian success stories, completely blurred and overshadowed the memorable significance of the occasion,” the presidency said in his rebuttal shared widely on social media.While saying Geingob had “since our independence championed the empowerment of young black Namibians”, it added that Namandje, the founding partner of Sisa Namandje & Co. Incorporated, had “a rare and inspirational story which should motivate our youth to pursue their dreams with vigour, as his life story proves that the sky is the limit”. “It is almost scandalous that instead of the nation being told of the achievement, celebrated by many at the occasion, we sadly had to wake up to a newspaper’s headline describing the moment as ‘an endorsement storm’. “Those who are quick to criticise every move of the president, however well-meant it may be, appear to have forgotten that the apartheid system left us with the legacy where the entire legal sector was dominated by whites, who did not hesitate to support and advance one another, since they believed in the principle of what Ian Smith described as ‘loyalty to kith and kin’,” the presidency said.It also denied that the Geingob’s attendance at the office inauguration was a conflict of interest, while making reference to an American law firm that had served as counsel for various American presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr.

‘Much ado about nothing’

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-26

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‘Much ado about nothing’

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-26

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