Ministry refutes IPC’s claims of exclusion during Modi visit

The ministry of international relations and cooperation has refuted what it described as false allegations by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) regarding the alleged exclusion of the official opposition party during the recent state visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.This follows a strongly worded statement released on Wednesday in which the IPC denounced what it described as a “systematic sidelining” of its leader and the nearly 300 000 Namibians who voted for the party in the last general election.The statement highlighted what the IPC called “a moment of profound irony”.“While India’s prime minister stands on Namibian soil representing the world’s largest democracy, our own government excludes the leader of the official opposition from participating in national events,” the release read.Citing multiple recent occasions, including the presidential inauguration, Genocide Remembrance Day, and the current Indian state visit, the IPC claimed that these exclusions were not accidental but rather “deliberate choices” rooted in the ruling party&#039;s refusal to acknowledge dissent.“This is the behaviour of a party that mistakes temporary power for permanent ownership of the state,” the statement read.Invited to lunchIn response, the ministry&#039;s executive director Penda Naanda, in a written statement issued on Thursday, clarified that, as a standard procedure, the leader of the opposition party was invited to the luncheon hosted in honour of Prime Minister Modi, but not to the official talks.“The mayor of the City of Windhoek, councillor Ndeshihafela Larandja, who is serving on the IPC ticket, was also invited and attended the luncheon. The invitations to both the leader of the official opposition party and of the mayor of the City of Windhoek were signed off and collected by IPC party members," he said.“Any insinuation that an invitation would be issued to the mayor while the same is not accorded to the leader of the official opposition party does not only fail to make sense but borders on being ludicrous,” he added.Naanda added: “It should be made categorically clear that official talks are held between two states and not with opposition parties. The ministry wishes to put it on record that the leader of the opposition party [Panduleni Itula] enquired about why his leader was not invited to attend the 11:00 programme while backbenchers were invited.“The response to him was that his leader was invited to the luncheon, as the 11:00 programme was the official talks, which are attended by Cabinet ministers only, and allegations that backbenchers were invited are devoid of any truth,” Naanda said.He added that the executive director had informed him that his leader was invited to the luncheon, as per the usual practice.Naanda noted that during official talks, Namibian Cabinet members engaged their visiting counterparts on bilateral issues, including the signing of memorandum of understanding and agreements. This was explained to the leader of the official opposition in parliament, Naanda said.“The ministry wishes to clarify that it under no circumstances undermines the credibility of leaders of the opposition parties,” he emphasised.– nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

Ministry refutes IPC’s claims of exclusion during Modi visit

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-19

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Ministry refutes IPC’s claims of exclusion during Modi visit

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-19

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