EDITORIAL: Dictatorship across the spectrum
What alternatives do Namibians have when autocracy rears its ugly head on both sides of the political divide? The past few years have shown us that the intra-party democratic space is getting narrower by the day – in both the ruling party and the opposition.
It’s a terrifying time for our country, as viable alternatives continue to dwindle. Parties that touted themselves as alternatives to Swapo are mirror images of the ruling party’s iron-fisted tendencies, reflected recently in the Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) axing of United People’s Movement (UPM) members of parliament.
How is UPM guilty of violating its marriage vows to PDM by flirting with new political bedfellows for the future, and not for the current term of office to which the alliance is tied?
The Landless People’s Movement has fired more of its members than the number of seats it holds, amid allegations of autocracy. In 2015, Hidipo Hamutenya alleged he was forced out of the Rally for Democracy and Progress, the baby he almost singlehandedly conceived and midwifed. Journeyman Martin Lukato pulls all the strings in his National Democratic Party (NDP), a briefcase party that remains stuck in his own womb.
The withdrawal, reinstatement and dismissal of Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) councillors at the City of Windhoek have also been contentious. By the time one of them was cleared by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of any wrongdoing, she had long been ushered through the City’s exit doors by the party. Amid all this, Namibians are forced to choose one among these devils.
It’s a terrifying time for our country, as viable alternatives continue to dwindle. Parties that touted themselves as alternatives to Swapo are mirror images of the ruling party’s iron-fisted tendencies, reflected recently in the Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) axing of United People’s Movement (UPM) members of parliament.
How is UPM guilty of violating its marriage vows to PDM by flirting with new political bedfellows for the future, and not for the current term of office to which the alliance is tied?
The Landless People’s Movement has fired more of its members than the number of seats it holds, amid allegations of autocracy. In 2015, Hidipo Hamutenya alleged he was forced out of the Rally for Democracy and Progress, the baby he almost singlehandedly conceived and midwifed. Journeyman Martin Lukato pulls all the strings in his National Democratic Party (NDP), a briefcase party that remains stuck in his own womb.
The withdrawal, reinstatement and dismissal of Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) councillors at the City of Windhoek have also been contentious. By the time one of them was cleared by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of any wrongdoing, she had long been ushered through the City’s exit doors by the party. Amid all this, Namibians are forced to choose one among these devils.
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