Geingos breaks silence on BH’s claims about Hage
Former first lady Monica Geingos has strongly rejected remarks made by northern businessman Ben ‘BH’ Hauwanga, who last week claimed that late president Hage Geingob urged him not to campaign for President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah ahead of the 2022 Swapo congress.
Geingob had publicly refrained from endorsing any of the three candidates vying for the position of party vice-president – Nandi-Ndaitwah, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Pohamba Shifeta.
Nandi-Ndaitwah ultimately emerged victorious and became Swapo’s presidential candidate for the 2024 national election.
Speaking on Omulunga Radio last Friday, Hauwanga alleged: “During the campaign, I was called by president Hage Geingob and then he told me that I should not campaign for Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. He told me to support his preferred candidate.”
Hauwanga said he nevertheless defied Geingob’s alleged request and continued to support Nandi-Ndaitwah. He made the comments while responding to separate allegations from Ongwediva resident Potgieter Vilho, who accused him of unethical business conduct in Angola.
In response to questions from Namibian Sun, Geingos questioned why her late husband’s name was invoked in a matter unrelated to the topic under discussion.
"Mrs Geingos expressed deep disappointment at Mr Ben Hauwanga’s attempt to divert attention from serious allegations about his alleged lack of honesty by dragging President Geingob’s name into a saga unrelated to him. She questioned why Mr Hauwanga chose to bring in divisive politics and to try to indict Geingob when the issue had nothing to do with Geingob or Swapo politics," her office said in a written response on Monday.
‘Blatant lies’
Geingos categorically denied that her husband had ever instructed anyone not to support a particular candidate. She added that while Geingob maintained a cordial but distant relationship with Hauwanga, none of the late president's confidants recalled them being close enough to warrant such a request from the president.
"Mrs Geingos believes that as a public leader, President Geingob’s legacy will be debated for years to come, and depending on events and interpretations, he will be portrayed at times as a victim, victor or villain and critical views are part of what political legacies are made of.
"She says whether President Geingob supported a particular candidate or not has been subject to many subjective political interpretations, given past endorsements, and that this is politically understandable. What she won’t accept is when people push blatant lies to self-aggrandise themselves."
Geingos added: “If there was a consistent personality trait of Hage, he never hid how he felt and said the same things to different people, particularly if he had an issue.”
‘A man of truth’
According to her office, Geingob was consistent and transparent in his dealings. “From her recollection, she confirms that President Geingob never instructed anyone not to support a particular candidate. Candidates and their supporters who sought his support were uniformly told he would not endorse anyone but would wholeheartedly support the winner, which is exactly what he did,” the statement read.
She also recalled his typical response to private enquiries about endorsements: “That’s your business!”
Geingos questioned why her husband would have made these alleged instructions to Hauwanga when even close allies were not privy to such preferences.
"Mrs Geingos says she is aware of a conversation that President Geingob had referred to, and comparing President Geingob’s version relative to that of Mr Hauwanga, she wholeheartedly believes what President Geingob told her, as she knows him to be a man of truth and who detested the type of behaviour being responded to."
The statement underlined that Geingos condemns Hauwanga’s claims "as an egregious fabrication to gain relevance and to escape the questions he was being asked about his alleged lack of truthfulness and unethical conduct. She believes that the habit of trying to pit leaders against each other is detestable, particularly when President Geingob is not here to defend himself."
Geingob passed away in February 2024 following a brief battle with cancer.
Geingob had publicly refrained from endorsing any of the three candidates vying for the position of party vice-president – Nandi-Ndaitwah, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Pohamba Shifeta.
Nandi-Ndaitwah ultimately emerged victorious and became Swapo’s presidential candidate for the 2024 national election.
Speaking on Omulunga Radio last Friday, Hauwanga alleged: “During the campaign, I was called by president Hage Geingob and then he told me that I should not campaign for Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. He told me to support his preferred candidate.”
Hauwanga said he nevertheless defied Geingob’s alleged request and continued to support Nandi-Ndaitwah. He made the comments while responding to separate allegations from Ongwediva resident Potgieter Vilho, who accused him of unethical business conduct in Angola.
In response to questions from Namibian Sun, Geingos questioned why her late husband’s name was invoked in a matter unrelated to the topic under discussion.
"Mrs Geingos expressed deep disappointment at Mr Ben Hauwanga’s attempt to divert attention from serious allegations about his alleged lack of honesty by dragging President Geingob’s name into a saga unrelated to him. She questioned why Mr Hauwanga chose to bring in divisive politics and to try to indict Geingob when the issue had nothing to do with Geingob or Swapo politics," her office said in a written response on Monday.
‘Blatant lies’
Geingos categorically denied that her husband had ever instructed anyone not to support a particular candidate. She added that while Geingob maintained a cordial but distant relationship with Hauwanga, none of the late president's confidants recalled them being close enough to warrant such a request from the president.
"Mrs Geingos believes that as a public leader, President Geingob’s legacy will be debated for years to come, and depending on events and interpretations, he will be portrayed at times as a victim, victor or villain and critical views are part of what political legacies are made of.
"She says whether President Geingob supported a particular candidate or not has been subject to many subjective political interpretations, given past endorsements, and that this is politically understandable. What she won’t accept is when people push blatant lies to self-aggrandise themselves."
Geingos added: “If there was a consistent personality trait of Hage, he never hid how he felt and said the same things to different people, particularly if he had an issue.”
‘A man of truth’
According to her office, Geingob was consistent and transparent in his dealings. “From her recollection, she confirms that President Geingob never instructed anyone not to support a particular candidate. Candidates and their supporters who sought his support were uniformly told he would not endorse anyone but would wholeheartedly support the winner, which is exactly what he did,” the statement read.
She also recalled his typical response to private enquiries about endorsements: “That’s your business!”
Geingos questioned why her husband would have made these alleged instructions to Hauwanga when even close allies were not privy to such preferences.
"Mrs Geingos says she is aware of a conversation that President Geingob had referred to, and comparing President Geingob’s version relative to that of Mr Hauwanga, she wholeheartedly believes what President Geingob told her, as she knows him to be a man of truth and who detested the type of behaviour being responded to."
The statement underlined that Geingos condemns Hauwanga’s claims "as an egregious fabrication to gain relevance and to escape the questions he was being asked about his alleged lack of truthfulness and unethical conduct. She believes that the habit of trying to pit leaders against each other is detestable, particularly when President Geingob is not here to defend himself."
Geingob passed away in February 2024 following a brief battle with cancer.
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