Understand Jerry Ekandjo politics

Jerry Ekandjo’s name remains central in Swapo politics. He is the type of politician who is both part of the team while at the same time able to stand out. For his beliefs, he is prepared to stand tall regardless of the consequences. His defiance of the apartheid regime saw him sentenced to Robben Island for years in the fight for freedom and independence. His defiant character did not end with the attainment of freedom and independence. In 2001, the then home affairs minister, Ekandjo, was found guilty of contempt of court for ignoring the court order that had ordered the release of the then jailed Unita representative, Jose Domingo Sikunda.

Ekandjo argued that the release of Sikunda was against national security.

In ruling party circles, Ekandjo has always been popular, usually topping the lists during internal elections. It is only when Swapo was penetrated by careerist opportunistic elements, whose access was made possible by the introduction of the money culture, that seasoned politicians such as Ekandjo began to experience electoral defeats by spineless loudmouths like Katrina Hanse and lightweights like Erginus Endjala.

Despite these setbacks, Ekandjo remains stalwart in his convictions and beliefs. It is clear that he is often misunderstood by many. In the current society, where modern values have dwarfed cultural African norms, there are very few leaders who would want to stand tall in defence of their cultural values and norms. It is for this reason that when Jerry Ekandjo stood up in the National Assembly recently and explicitly warned the Speaker that they "cannot allow another man to insert his penis in the anus of another", there were generally two responses.

First, there were those who were shocked that a member of parliament could express himself in such explicit language – mainly those who have assimilated modern culture and norms in which homosexuality is seen as normal. They were very loud in their condemnation. There was a second group, those who understood both African culture and norms on the one hand and modern norms on the other hand.

In the comfort of their homes, they condemn these norms in support of African norms, but due to convenience, they would not express these views openly.

They enjoyed Ekandjo’s comments in parliament but remained silent in their parliamentary seats.

Ekandjo is thus one of the few remaining Swapo traditional politicians who is not afraid of taking a stand on a matter that is important to him. This is the character that many analysts do not understand and why Ekandjo remains relevant in Swapo politics, despite losing elections here and there.

He contested Geingob in both the 2012 and 2017 congresses. While an election is generally understood and accepted as a race for one to win, what is often ignored, particularly in politically novice societies like ours, is that sometimes contestations take place even when a win is not on the cards. Certainly, there are other objectives of participating in an election other than winning.

Swapo is headed to a congress next month. It is the first time in its history that the party will be entering an election with a weakened leader. For sure, as president of Swapo, Hage Geingob enters this election weakened without having given an open direction to the members and leaders of the party he leads. Three candidates (Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Pohamba Shifeta and Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila), who formed part of his 2017 Harambee group, have formed their own groupings, all fighting to succeed him. There was a fourth one, Frans Kapofi, whose withdrawal created a problem for the synthetic political strategy. This is a classic case of the failure of political strategy.

This paper reported yesterday that on Friday the central committee (CC) will meet to discuss the demands of Jerry Ekandjo to be included as a candidate for the vice-president race.

This was made possible by the withdrawal of Frans Kapofi. The nomination process numbered Ekandjo fifth, allowing only Nandi-Ndaitwah, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Kapofi and Shifeta. Had there been a careful political design on the part of Geingob and his inner circle, Kapofi would’ve remained put to keep the door shut on Ekandjo.

Kapofi’s impulsive withdrawal delivered the keys into the hands of Jerry Ekandjo. That is on the assumption that his withdrawal was under their control and not motivated by external forces. To cut a long story short, the CC will meet to discuss one man, Jerry Ekandjo. A decision will have to be taken on the demands of one man, Jerry Ekandjo. If he succeeds, the campaign schedule that has started will have to be changed because of, and to accommodate, one man, Jerry Ekandjo. Jerry Ekandjo politics requires a deeper understanding beyond elections and triumphalism.

Muthoni waKongola is a native of Kongola in the Zambezi Region primarily concerned with analysing society and offering ideas for a better Namibia. She is reachable at [email protected] or @wakongola on Twitter.