'Rundu rebels' get Swapo boot
KENYA KAMBOWE
RUNDU
Swapo's suspended Rundu councillors, who have been in protracted battles with the party's head office and specifically secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa, will not be among the candidates contesting the upcoming local and regional authority elections. This was confirmed by Swapo Rundu Urban district coordinator, Gabriel Hakusembe, who told Namibian Sun that Isak Kandingu, Anastacia Shinduvi-Foya, Ralph Ihemba and Toini Hausiku, the wife of Swapo deputy secretary-general Marco Hausiku, were not even nominated as candidates at the extraordinary district conference that took place on Sunday.
Hakusembe said the names of the 13 candidates elected at the weekend would now be forwarded to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
Kandingu, Shinduvi-Foya, Ihemba and Hausiku are currently serving an indefinite suspension without pay together with All People's Party (APP) and the Rundu Concerned Citizens Association (RCCA) representatives who had previously been part of the Rundu council.
Governance issues
The six councillors were suspended earlier this year by former urban and rural development minister, Peya Mushelenga, who had cited governance issues at the time.
However, the acrimony stretches back to last year when Kandingu was elected as the new mayor, defying Shaningwa's directive for the Swapo councillors to maintain the status quo.
At the time, Hausiku was elected as the new deputy mayor, along with Shinduvi-Foya as chairperson of the management committee and Mathew Wakudumo of the APP as a new member of the management committee. This led to a vicious public battle that ended with a meeting at the Swapo headquarters chaired by President Hage Geingob, which seemingly resolved the impasse.
However, this was only the calm before a further storm.
In 2015, Swapo scooped five of the seven seats in the council.
One of the seats was left vacant last year when Verna Sinimbo, who Kandingu had replaced as mayor, resigned from her position and stood in the National Assembly election on a Swapo ticket. She has since been appointed as deputy trade minister.
'Respect party structures'
Hakusembe revealed that the top seven candidates elected at the extraordinary district conference are Johanna Kakondo, Muyenga Engelbert, Regina Nekare, Kanyanga Gabriel, Margret da Rocha, Jonas Kakenge and Anna-Lissa Muranda.
“As a district coordinator, I do not doubt the people's choices. Any leader the people bring to me, I have to work with them. They should just respect the party structures,” Hakusembe added.
RUNDU
Swapo's suspended Rundu councillors, who have been in protracted battles with the party's head office and specifically secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa, will not be among the candidates contesting the upcoming local and regional authority elections. This was confirmed by Swapo Rundu Urban district coordinator, Gabriel Hakusembe, who told Namibian Sun that Isak Kandingu, Anastacia Shinduvi-Foya, Ralph Ihemba and Toini Hausiku, the wife of Swapo deputy secretary-general Marco Hausiku, were not even nominated as candidates at the extraordinary district conference that took place on Sunday.
Hakusembe said the names of the 13 candidates elected at the weekend would now be forwarded to the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
Kandingu, Shinduvi-Foya, Ihemba and Hausiku are currently serving an indefinite suspension without pay together with All People's Party (APP) and the Rundu Concerned Citizens Association (RCCA) representatives who had previously been part of the Rundu council.
Governance issues
The six councillors were suspended earlier this year by former urban and rural development minister, Peya Mushelenga, who had cited governance issues at the time.
However, the acrimony stretches back to last year when Kandingu was elected as the new mayor, defying Shaningwa's directive for the Swapo councillors to maintain the status quo.
At the time, Hausiku was elected as the new deputy mayor, along with Shinduvi-Foya as chairperson of the management committee and Mathew Wakudumo of the APP as a new member of the management committee. This led to a vicious public battle that ended with a meeting at the Swapo headquarters chaired by President Hage Geingob, which seemingly resolved the impasse.
However, this was only the calm before a further storm.
In 2015, Swapo scooped five of the seven seats in the council.
One of the seats was left vacant last year when Verna Sinimbo, who Kandingu had replaced as mayor, resigned from her position and stood in the National Assembly election on a Swapo ticket. She has since been appointed as deputy trade minister.
'Respect party structures'
Hakusembe revealed that the top seven candidates elected at the extraordinary district conference are Johanna Kakondo, Muyenga Engelbert, Regina Nekare, Kanyanga Gabriel, Margret da Rocha, Jonas Kakenge and Anna-Lissa Muranda.
“As a district coordinator, I do not doubt the people's choices. Any leader the people bring to me, I have to work with them. They should just respect the party structures,” Hakusembe added.
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