Selective morality will ruin Swapo

History has a nasty tendency of repeating itself, shaming and naming politicians who apply principles selectively and stretch facts in a particular case to portray a mould they seek to vindicate. That is very unfortunate, if not balderdash. There are no blank pages in history.

In 2015, shortly after handing over the instruments of power to incoming president Hage Geingob, president Hifikepunye Pohamba shocked all and sundry when he announced at the same time that he would also resign as Swapo president with immediate effect.

The Swapo central committee immediately met at Ongwediva and 'appointed' Geingob as Swapo 'acting' President.

Geingob was Swapo vice-president then. That central committee never called for an extraordinary congress within three months to fill the vacancy created by Hifikepunye's abrupt resignation, as provided for in the constitution.

As if that were not bad enough, Geingob never accepted being referred to as 'acting' president. Determined to exert his authority, albeit unconstitutionally, he made himself 'substantive' president. Despite his hyped "processes, systems and institutions" mantra, he also never summoned the courage of his conviction to fulfil and honour that constitutional requirement. Sure enough, everybody around him clapped hands and sang the same lyrics, including Helmut Angula.

True, the constitution of Swapo must be honoured and respected to keep its sacred values and principles relevant at all times. The underlying principle here, however, is that it must be applied firmly and equally in all circumstances, not just when it suits certain individuals at a particular time.

'Anti-Swapo agent provocateur'

This week, Helmut told Namibian Sun that Swapo must hold an extraordinary congress "within the time prescribed" by its constitution to fill the party president position, which became vacant following the death of late president Geingob.

"In circumstances such as the death of the party leader, an extraordinary congress must be called to find a replacement. The right thing to do is that an extraordinary congress must happen," Helmut was quoted saying.

Helmut is a difficult politician to believe, let alone predict, and he is most likely one of the worst politicians Swapo has produced. His stable of politics, it seems, thrives and feeds on contradictions, dressed up in 'veteran attires' to sound like the all-knowing politician who should be quoted all the time when everything else goes wrong in Swapo. The man credited with the now infamous 'Helmut Angula Amendments' says many things, often contradicting himself publicly.

Namibian Sun editor, Toivo Ndjebela, this week unmasked one of his unsightly contradictions. "In a full-page advert in 2016, Helmut called Elijah Ngurare an 'anti-Swapo agent provocateur' for calling for the party to follow its constitution when Pohamba quit to enjoy his Mo Ibrahim millions. Now, in 2024, Helmut is singing the exact [same] hymn. Ah, politics," Ndjebela wrote in disbelief on his Twitter account.

Ah, politics indeed! Can we today say Helmut is an "anti-Swapo Party agent provocateur", now that he is calling for an extraordinary congress, which he didn't want in 2016, despite the constitution of Swapo saying so? Today, Swapo finds itself facing the same problem it faced back in 2015. The only difference is that in 2015, Geingob was a man. In 2024, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is a woman.

Helmut was there in 2015, and has been there ever since. He never called for an extraordinary congress. He never called on Geingob to resign to contest the party president position. He remained stone silent for two years and eight months until an ordinary congress took place in 2017 to elect Geingob as Swapo president.

Presidential candidate

Now that Netumbo is in the ring, suddenly, an extraordinary congress must be called to elect a replacement. Netumbo "must resign" if she wants to contest the president position. But Geingob never resigned as vice-president in 2017, and Helmut was never there to recite those constitutional provisions. Where were Helmut's moral convictions being applied to the Swapo constitution to address Swapo's recurring problems then? This is selective morality at best, and double standards at worst.

Those who are calling for an extraordinary congress are not genuine. They are disingenuous. There is nothing wrong or unconstitutional with postponing the congress to next year, given the logistics and the time before the November elections. If there is something unconstitutional, then Geingob acted unconstitutionally for two years and eight months, from 2015 to 2017. Helmut was part of the team that midwifed this unsightly precedent. He is, therefore, the last person to lecture us on constitutional issues.

Perhaps the extraordinary congress must take place just to shame these veterans, who only know Swapo very well when it suits them. But as I have said earlier, should the congress take place, it should be managed in such a way that Netumbo emerges from that congress as Swapo president. Contest the VP position if you want, but let Netumbo sail through unopposed to avoid toxic divisions in the run-up to the November elections.

She has already captured the imagination of the nation as Swapo's presidential candidate. To put it bluntly, those calling for an extraordinary congress must just summon the courage of their conviction and tell us that the real problem is not the constitution of Swapo, but rather that they are not ready to be led by a woman. And that invites different arguments altogether. Play the ball, not the person. May Geingob's soul rest in peace!

*Asser Ntinda is the former editor-in-chief of Namibia Today, a Swapo-owned newspaper.