Hakusembe favourite to land Kavango East coordinator seat
Swapo Party’s Rundu Urban district coordinator Gabriel Hakusembe appears to be the front runner to fill the Kavango East regional coordinator position after he was nominated by three of the six districts.
The Swapo Kavango East regional conference is expected to take place this Saturday, and will see the regional leadership for the next five years elected as well as delegates to the party’s national congress.
Namibian Sun has been reliably informed that Hakusembe has the blessing of the Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural and Ndonga Linena constituencies, while the Mashare and Ndiyona constituencies favour incumbent Ottilie Shinduvi.
Mashare constituency backed its district coordinator Christian Muriki to stand for the position.
Trouble in paradise
Sources say it is unsurprising that Ndonga Linena and Rundu Rural constituencies dropped Shinduvi like a hot potato after she allegedly pushed former Rundu Rural councillor Michael Shikongo to stand for the position in November 2020, despite the masses behind against it.
The branches opposed the decision because, at the time, Shikongo faced a case of assault, having allegedly assaulted a pensioner.
Then Swapo member Paulus Mbangu subsequently resigned from the party and contested for the Rundu Rural position as an independent candidate, which he won convincingly.
In Ndonga Linena, Swapo’s candidate Michael Kampota won the councillor position by a narrow margin due to a protest vote. Party members either voted for the opposition or abstained from the vote completely, which was later blamed on the regional leadership.
In Mukwe constituency, Muriki raised a motion of no confidence towards Shinduvi and Kavango East governor Bonifatius Wakudumo, who at the time was the regional mobiliser, in 2020.
He accused the duo of allegedly spearheading tribalism, factionalism and regionalism and violating the party's constitution. He further claimed that they were meddling in the elections at grass-roots level and imposing their preferred candidates onto various structures.
Shinduvi and Wakudumo strongly denounced the motion, which they said was not done procedurally.
Cannot be entertained
“The allegations made against the regional coordinator and regional information and mobilisation officer, apart from being personal vendetta, are riddled with untruths, slander and assassination of character and cannot be entertained. However, rights remain and appropriate remedy will be sought in due course,” Wakudumo said at the time.
That matter was sent to the politburo, however, to this day, no feedback has been given to the regional executive.
For the past two years, the Swapo Kavango East regional leadership has been in disarray, with the party headquarters recently dispatching an independent committee to Rundu to investigate claims against those at the helm.
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The Swapo Kavango East regional conference is expected to take place this Saturday, and will see the regional leadership for the next five years elected as well as delegates to the party’s national congress.
Namibian Sun has been reliably informed that Hakusembe has the blessing of the Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural and Ndonga Linena constituencies, while the Mashare and Ndiyona constituencies favour incumbent Ottilie Shinduvi.
Mashare constituency backed its district coordinator Christian Muriki to stand for the position.
Trouble in paradise
Sources say it is unsurprising that Ndonga Linena and Rundu Rural constituencies dropped Shinduvi like a hot potato after she allegedly pushed former Rundu Rural councillor Michael Shikongo to stand for the position in November 2020, despite the masses behind against it.
The branches opposed the decision because, at the time, Shikongo faced a case of assault, having allegedly assaulted a pensioner.
Then Swapo member Paulus Mbangu subsequently resigned from the party and contested for the Rundu Rural position as an independent candidate, which he won convincingly.
In Ndonga Linena, Swapo’s candidate Michael Kampota won the councillor position by a narrow margin due to a protest vote. Party members either voted for the opposition or abstained from the vote completely, which was later blamed on the regional leadership.
In Mukwe constituency, Muriki raised a motion of no confidence towards Shinduvi and Kavango East governor Bonifatius Wakudumo, who at the time was the regional mobiliser, in 2020.
He accused the duo of allegedly spearheading tribalism, factionalism and regionalism and violating the party's constitution. He further claimed that they were meddling in the elections at grass-roots level and imposing their preferred candidates onto various structures.
Shinduvi and Wakudumo strongly denounced the motion, which they said was not done procedurally.
Cannot be entertained
“The allegations made against the regional coordinator and regional information and mobilisation officer, apart from being personal vendetta, are riddled with untruths, slander and assassination of character and cannot be entertained. However, rights remain and appropriate remedy will be sought in due course,” Wakudumo said at the time.
That matter was sent to the politburo, however, to this day, no feedback has been given to the regional executive.
For the past two years, the Swapo Kavango East regional leadership has been in disarray, with the party headquarters recently dispatching an independent committee to Rundu to investigate claims against those at the helm.
[email protected]
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