EDITORIAL: Swapo’s women at the crossroads

For decades, Swapo was a brotherhood - a fortress of patriarchy. The corridors of power echoed with male voices, while women, no matter how capable, were relegated to the margins. So entrenched was this gender imbalance that the party was forced to institute a 50/50 gender representation policy - not as a badge of honour, but as a desperate corrective measure.

Men controlled the narrative, dominated the structures, and steered the ship. It was a boys’ club cloaked in struggle credentials and military discipline, where the unspoken rule was clear: women may enter, but they may never lead. Leadership, they insisted, was too heavy a crown for women. Some warned that giving power to women would break the party and usher in electoral defeat.

Now, history has delivered a poetic twist.

At the helm of Swapo stand two women: President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and secretary general Sophia Shaningwa. It is a moment that should be a proud punctuation mark in the story of a party long burdened by male dominance. And yet, it risks becoming a cautionary tale. Their rumoured fallout - increasingly visible to even the casual observer - is more than a personal rift. It is political ammunition for those still clinging to the old dogmas: that women left to their own devices will inevitably turn leadership into conflict.

Let us be clear. Disagreement is not a sin in politics. We value debate, even a fierce one.

But disagreement without resolution is a different beast. It births factions. And factionalism - more than any outside threat - has become Swapo’s Achilles’ heel, second only to its failing record on service delivery. With the party’s electoral grip loosening, internal discord at the top is a risk it simply cannot afford.