Swapo primaries split Okahandja

A storm is brewing at Okahandja after the ruling Swapo Party held its district primaries to elect candidates for the November regional and local authority elections. The elections were chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, who is the party leader assigned to the Otjozondjupa Region. He maintained that the process was clean. However, allegations of election fraud and manipulation are doing the rounds at the ‘Garden Town’. Some people allegedly registered in three party branches, meaning they could vote in all three. Other allegations are that RDP members stood as Swapo candidates, leading to senior party members calling for the nullification of the primaries. It is further said that battle lines have been drawn between Okahandja Mayor Valerie Aron, who is also a party district coordinator, and constituency councillor and acting Swapo regional coordinator Steve Biko Booys. Party insiders have it that the two have been at each other’s throats and the tension is being felt at section and branch level. Namibian Sun has seen a letter dated September 28, addressed to Swapo Secretary-General Nangolo Mbumba and signed by Okahandja Mayor Valerie Aron and district spokesperson Victor Nakapandi. When contacted this week Aron refused to comment on the letter and referred all queries to the branch coordinators while Booys maintained that he did what was expected of him. Nakapandi’s phone went unanswered yesterday In the letter a number of irregularities were allegedly identified at the Nehale, Utoni Nujoma and Anton Lubowski branches. According to the letter, Booys had ordered the Nehale branch to be restructured to root out non-members. It said this restructuring did not happen and the leader assigned to the area, Public Enterprise Minister Leon Jooste, decided to move on to the next branch which was already electing candidates. Booys and two others with a “white Isuzu bakkie” are accused of transporting “six comrades to the district [conference] including members of the opposition”. Branch coordinator Bernhard Martin confirmed that he was aware of the letter calling for the nullification of the district elections and also confirmed the irregularities at his branch. “Some of the people did not belong to Nehale branch, they wanted to take part in those elections and some of them had forged membership cards,” said Martin. The letter said these “illegal membership cards” were signed by unauthorised persons. It reads: “Some of the people given cards do not even have identity cards and therefore wrong dates were guessed and written on cards. It is suspected that some used other people’s identity numbers. “Some districts in Windhoek were used by the two above-mentioned to get these cards they have been signing and dishing out to Okahandja people.” According to the letter, vetting was only done in some sections and branches such as Jesus Awala, Komesho, Moses //Garoeb and Immanuel Ngatjizeko. “Despite the fact that pertinent questions and concerns were ignored, the request to do the vetting at the district conference was completely ignored. “We however strongly and highly recommend your good esteemed office to consider and redirect another fair observers or team that Nehale, Anton Lubowski, Utoni Nujoma and the district conference be nullified. [sic]” The letter also called for restructuring to take place, “so that the verification of membership cards, consistency, transparency and equity” can be investigated. Mbumba could not be reached for comment yesterday. ELVIS MURARANGANDA