Swapo comrades kicked out of party school

Kenya Kambowe RUNDU Following complaints raised to the Swapo Kavango East regional leadership, the entire group of Swapo members from the Rundu Rural district - who were admitted to the party’s school - have been recalled.This after they were found to apparently be misbehaving and were described as ill-disciplined.This is according to a letter dated 19 April from Swapo’s Kavango East regional coordinator, Ottilie Shinduvi, to the region’s Swapo school coordinator, Sebastian Kantema, in which she indicated that the students from the Rundu Rural district would no longer be allowed to take part in training.“The affected students will not be allowed to continue taking part with the training for [the] Swapo party school,” she wrote.Namibian Sun understands five Swapo members have been affected by this decision.When asked why the decision was taken, Shinduvi yesterday said they are still seized with the matter, but hinted that it was related to the students’ behaviour.“It’s still in the office, we are still dealing with it, we can’t publish it. If somebody brought it to you then it is that person to explain. It’s discipline in the party,” Shinduvi said.DisagreementsNamibian Sun has been reliably informed that the decision to chuck the members from the party school follows disagreements between the regional leadership and the Rundu Rural district members over the outcome of last year’s regional elections.The results saw Paulus Mbangu, a former Swapo member who stood as an independent candidate, defeating the ruling party’s candidate, Micheal Sikongo.Kavango East is known to be a Swapo stronghold where a clean sweep at regional elections was commonplace, and with Mbangu’s win, it appears this tide has turned.Mbangu won because the electorate protested against the regional leadership’s decision to endorse Sikongo, despite fellow Swapo members from the constituency being against it.However, when asked whether the elections had anything to do with the members being recalled, Shinduvi said it was related to discipline issues.“It is just how some of them were acting. It [has] nothing to do with the elections,” she said. Real reasonMeanwhile, one of the ousted members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, refuted Shinduvi’s version of events.“It’s not about discipline. They must tell you the real reason. We simply complained about issues and that does not mean it’s ill-discipline. We are all adults,” the member said.The source also questioned why Swapo rules and procedure guidelines exist yet decisions are taken without allowing the other party a chance to defend themselves.To this, Shinduvi said there was no need for a regional executive committee to deliberate on the matter as it involves a district which should address its own issues.kenya@namibiansun.com

Swapo comrades kicked out of party school

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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Swapo comrades kicked out of party school

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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