Sparks fly at politburo
Sparks flew over the appointment of Sophia Shaningwa as a Swapo politburo member yesterday, while only President Geingob's preferred candidates for the top four positions were nominated.
Emotions ran high yesterday morning when Swapo veterans took on the acting president for allegedly violating the party constitution by “single-handedly” replacing former president Hifikepunye Pohamba with Sophia Shaningwa as a politburo member.
According to Swapo presidential hopeful Nahas Angula, the vacant position left by Pohamba was one of the party's top four positions and could therefore only be filled at the party congress or an extraordinary congress. Shaningwa is only a central committee member and the appointment was therefore regarded unconstitutional.
“I brought it up and then they realised their mistake so the chair [Geingob] apologised,” he said.
According to well-placed sources a physical altercation erupted between Mbumba and Helmuth Angula over the legality of Shaningwa's appointment as politburo member.
Shaningwa left the building looking defeated and tense, minutes after the politburo meeting had started.
At the same time the security officers barred the media from taking pictures and instructed journalists to leave the premises of the Swapo headquarters immediately, saying it is not a public place.
Two hours later the remaining members exited the building appearing tense and a visibly shaken Mbumba told Namibian Sun he was not prepared to speak to the media.
Geingob left the premises shortly after he greeted former presidents Pohamba and Sam Nujoma.
After this, the mood of the Swapo seniors lightened and reporters could take photographs up close.
Geingob's preferred candidates, as presented at a politburo meeting last Friday, were formally nominated at yesterday's meeting. Nahas Angula, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Jerry Ekandjo and Helmuth Angula opted to be nominated at Sunday's central committee meeting.
Nahas Angula and Ekandjo want to stand as party president while Iivula-Ithana and Helmuth Angula are eyeing the party vice-president position.
Nahas Angula said that confidence in the politburo was waning.
“We feel that the politburo is compromised because the members that are serving on it, at the pleasure of the acting president, were instructed to behave in a certain way. So all the nominations were seconded in a mob fashion,” he said.
He added that central committee is a larger body with more people who are not appointed by the president, hence providing a reasonable balance.
“I am not contesting Geingob as party president. The president's position is vacant and I am exercising my democratic right to contest. Therefore, whether Geingob is a competent president is irrelevant,” he said.
Namibian Sun further established that deputy SG Laura McLeod-Katjirua nominated Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as vice-president and Albert Kawana nominated Sophia Shaningwa.
JEMIMA BEUKES
According to Swapo presidential hopeful Nahas Angula, the vacant position left by Pohamba was one of the party's top four positions and could therefore only be filled at the party congress or an extraordinary congress. Shaningwa is only a central committee member and the appointment was therefore regarded unconstitutional.
“I brought it up and then they realised their mistake so the chair [Geingob] apologised,” he said.
According to well-placed sources a physical altercation erupted between Mbumba and Helmuth Angula over the legality of Shaningwa's appointment as politburo member.
Shaningwa left the building looking defeated and tense, minutes after the politburo meeting had started.
At the same time the security officers barred the media from taking pictures and instructed journalists to leave the premises of the Swapo headquarters immediately, saying it is not a public place.
Two hours later the remaining members exited the building appearing tense and a visibly shaken Mbumba told Namibian Sun he was not prepared to speak to the media.
Geingob left the premises shortly after he greeted former presidents Pohamba and Sam Nujoma.
After this, the mood of the Swapo seniors lightened and reporters could take photographs up close.
Geingob's preferred candidates, as presented at a politburo meeting last Friday, were formally nominated at yesterday's meeting. Nahas Angula, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Jerry Ekandjo and Helmuth Angula opted to be nominated at Sunday's central committee meeting.
Nahas Angula and Ekandjo want to stand as party president while Iivula-Ithana and Helmuth Angula are eyeing the party vice-president position.
Nahas Angula said that confidence in the politburo was waning.
“We feel that the politburo is compromised because the members that are serving on it, at the pleasure of the acting president, were instructed to behave in a certain way. So all the nominations were seconded in a mob fashion,” he said.
He added that central committee is a larger body with more people who are not appointed by the president, hence providing a reasonable balance.
“I am not contesting Geingob as party president. The president's position is vacant and I am exercising my democratic right to contest. Therefore, whether Geingob is a competent president is irrelevant,” he said.
Namibian Sun further established that deputy SG Laura McLeod-Katjirua nominated Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as vice-president and Albert Kawana nominated Sophia Shaningwa.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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