Politicians the problem, not our courts

By virtue of their work, politicians will do anything possible to maximise their popularity. They are thus able to ride the popular wave of support in good and bad times. The ongoing power struggles in many of our political parties all have to do with alignments and vested interests that come with being in a position of influence. The leader of a political party matters, more so, if that political party happens to be Swapo. And as the old adage goes, birds of a political feather always flock together. For many years now Swapo has been criticised for not openly speaking out against corruption in both the public and private sector. For instance, the closure of the SME Bank last year, which saw about N$200 million misappropriated, was once again met with a deafening silence on the part of the ruling party, despite the fact hundreds were left without jobs. The crux of the matter is that Swapo leaders seem to condone corruption, as long as it serves their political self-interest. Or how else would one comprehend the horrible comments attributed to Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa in a local weekly, following the conviction and sentencing of former Namibia Wildlife Resorts MD and ruling party politburo and central committee member, Tobie Aupindi. Aupindi and his co-accused, businessman Antonio di Savino, were sentenced to fines of N$50 000 or 30 months' imprisonment by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court last week, shortly after they were found guilty of providing false information to an authorised officer of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). “I think it's a little bit unfair because there are people who have stolen millions and misused public money, but they have been let off the hook,” the Windhoek Observer quoted Shaningwa as saying. By casting aspersions on the legitimacy of the judiciary, Shaningwa also doesn't seem to know that Namibia is a constitutional democracy governed by laws. We can no longer have so-called leaders buckling under the weight of their own big heads and operating institutions with a non-existent value system.