EDITORIAL: Time to probe Swartbooi’s leadership
The political marriage between Henny Seibeb and Bernadus Swartbooi was bound to fail. And it’s unfortunate because in them, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), had a formidable force. Their early days in parliament are testament to that. Together, they were a necessary chaos - especially in our timid, sleepy National Assembly.
The scenes of Swartbooi ripping off his jacket and inviting Swapo parliamentarians to a fist fight, with Seibeb rallying him on in the background, kept the somnolent lawmakers in those chambers awake for a change. Add to this the sight of Seibeb being manhandled by late president Hage Geingob’s bodyguard Johan Ndjaronguru, and you have a tale of two short-fused leaders. Their personalities were always going to clash at some point, and yesterday, they exploded like dynamite.
It was just a matter of time. The battlefield was already set. It just needed weaponry. LPM needed a blend of both temper and measurement. They only had the former – and in abundance. Level-headedness didn’t exist within LPM's top two. Two hotheads led the party, and their fate was written the day they tied the knot. Yesterday it came to a head, and in spectacular fashion.
LPM must now introspect. Swartbooi’s iron-fisted leadership has been the subject of debate for quite a while now. True, he must maintain discipline within the rank and file of the ‘orange movement’, but is it a mere coincidence that those leaving the party have pointed fingers at his poor interpersonal skills and autocratic tendencies?
The scenes of Swartbooi ripping off his jacket and inviting Swapo parliamentarians to a fist fight, with Seibeb rallying him on in the background, kept the somnolent lawmakers in those chambers awake for a change. Add to this the sight of Seibeb being manhandled by late president Hage Geingob’s bodyguard Johan Ndjaronguru, and you have a tale of two short-fused leaders. Their personalities were always going to clash at some point, and yesterday, they exploded like dynamite.
It was just a matter of time. The battlefield was already set. It just needed weaponry. LPM needed a blend of both temper and measurement. They only had the former – and in abundance. Level-headedness didn’t exist within LPM's top two. Two hotheads led the party, and their fate was written the day they tied the knot. Yesterday it came to a head, and in spectacular fashion.
LPM must now introspect. Swartbooi’s iron-fisted leadership has been the subject of debate for quite a while now. True, he must maintain discipline within the rank and file of the ‘orange movement’, but is it a mere coincidence that those leaving the party have pointed fingers at his poor interpersonal skills and autocratic tendencies?
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