EDITORIAL: Act against Utoni Nujoma

Minister Utoni Nujoma seems to take his epithet ‘son of the nation’ to literally mean that he’s the favourite and untouchable child of the proverbial Namibian House.His latest gaffe - in which he remarked that Aawambo are hard-working while other tribes are ‘lazy’ - is a dismissible offence.In 2016, President Hage Geingob compelled then Omaheke governor Festus Ueitele to apologise after he was recorded saying that Ovaherero are the “sort of people who do not respect other tribes, and are back-stabbers who use other tribes for their own benefit”.The following year, Geingob ordered Omusati governor Erginus Endjala to apologise for tribal remarks he made against Aandonga people, whom he described as pathologically power-hungry and traitors. In fact, Endjala had already apologised, but Geingob demanded a second apology, saying the first lacked sincerity.Unlike the two governors whose remarks were private and leaked, Nujoma stood in parliament, our august house, to spew his bile. He later withdrew his remarks and apologised. However, his apology doesn’t wash away what is clearly ingrained in his psyche and how he perceives the people he represents as a national leader.At so many levels, his sins are heavier than those of the governors. Therefore, Geingob is left with no choice but to be consistent in his handling of how his appointees puke such prejudices. Nujoma has made his bed, he must now lie in it.

EDITORIAL: Act against Utoni Nujoma

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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EDITORIAL: Act against Utoni Nujoma

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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