Pohamba’s 2015 power handover was illegal – Pendukeni

Former Swapo secretary-general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana says she opposed, at politburo level, former president Hifikepunye Pohamba’s “unconstitutional” decision to hand power to President Hage Geingob without an election taking place.

Those who dared calling Geingob Swapo “acting president” at the time were called out.

Pohamba officially resigned as Swapo president on 20 April 2015 and handed the position to Geingob, who was vice-president of the party at the time.

In one instance, on 26 October 2016, Swapo paid nearly N$20 000 for a full-page media release in which then secretary for information Helmut Angula lambasted the media and party members who called Geingob an acting president.

“In all sincerity and honesty, [former youth league leader Elijah] Ngurare and his fellow anti-Swapo agent provocateurs know too well that [Geingob] is not the acting president of the Swapo Party. He is the president of the Swapo Party,” the statement, which also took a swipe at The Namibian, read.

Unconstitutional

Speaking on The Evening Review last night, Iivula-Ithana said she opposed the unconstitutional power swop at politburo, but did not succeed in her endeavour.

The Swapo presidency is an elective position. An unelected incumbent in that position is deemed acting.

“What was done by Comrade Pohamba was unconstitutional - there can never be something like that, ever. I opposed his decision in the politburo. I opposed it because constitutionally no one had the power to hand over a position. I was just being constitutional,” she said.

Those yielding power in the party should also not be given any leeway to make decisions single-handedly, Iivula-Ithana said.

“Me, Pendukeni Ithana, I will never support you, never ever. It happened, it’s history now and we should proceed to make Swapo a true democratic party.”

Geingob was duly elected as party president two years later, at the 2017 congress, and fired Iivula-Ithana and Jerry Ekandjo as ministers after congress. The pair challenged Geingob’s slate at that congress.

Out of the woods

After spending the past five years in political wilderness, Iivula-Ithana was elected to the Swapo central committee at last weekend’s elective congress, bringing her back into mainstream politics.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, her erstwhile rival at the 2017 congress, won the Swapo vice-presidency and is on a path to be the party’s candidate for the 2024 national presidential election.

“She is my age-mate. People are made different. Maybe what I consider to be my shortcomings, maybe that is not applicable to her. My worry is only the national elections because the cries I had listened to were for two [types of candidates]; a woman and a young person,” the 70-year-old said.

“A woman she is, yes. Maybe we will be able to help her,” she added.

Opportunism rife

Iivula-Ithana added that the party has been infiltrated by some people with the aim of destroying it from within.

“Swapo today is seen as a ladder to get to get to personal glorification goals and this is what people in the country are seeing. “People get into positions to get tenders, to know [what] this one has done to benefit themselves,” she said.

“The positions are used to see what is available,” she added.

According to her, lax controls imposed with regards to whom was able to join the party as members led to its regression.

“I was there and I think we relaxed so much, we just thought the party was getting people and we thought the party was getting the population.

“Some people came with completely different agendas to destroy the party from within, some to get a livelihood,” she said.