Africa-Press – Namibia. LANDLESS People’s Movement (LPM) deputy leader Henny Seibeb says growing up he always wanted to be an actor.
However, due to circumstances beyond his control and as a consequence of an underdeveloped entertainment industry in Namibia, he was left with no choice but to pursue a career in politics.
“I read a lot, and I am also a big Springbok fan, but my first love is drama, or what we call performing arts. If I did not study political science, or if I lived in Johannesburg, for example, I would have been a big actor, even in ‘Generations’. I am more interested in those things … I love theatre a lot,” he told Desert Radio 95.3 FM on Monday.
Seibeb said when he visits Johannesburg or Cape Town he meets up with some of his favourite actors to talk about the art of acting.
The LPM deputy leader said he hopes Namibia would one day have a “big theatre industry”.
Seibeb also discussed the combative politics his party has employed for the last two years since joining the National Assembly (NA).
He said LPM parliamentarians are not unruly people, as many believe.
According to him, LPM MPs, including himself, are victims of the progressive change they have brought to the parliament.
Seibeb said the party is misjudged by the public and some media entities for their reaction to members of the ruling party.
“They started insulting us, thinking we would not insult them back. So we gave them what they needed. They started undermining our programmes, and the more they tried, the more we became aggressive, and now it is starting to pay back.
“I mean nobody thought we were ever going to meet president Geingob like we did last week,” he said.
He said Namibians have over the years been used to the passive nature of how proceedings were conducted in the NA, and some are now struggling to adapt to the new robust nature of parliament.
“Namibians have been docile over the years. Our parliament is the calmest parliament compared to others, for example Kenya’s or Uganda’s, where they fight. We are still on speaking terms,” he said.
TRIBAL POLITICS
Seibeb also addressed the perception that the LPM was established as a tribal party that thrives on conspiracies and fake news.
He said: “We all thrive on conspiracies, but we provide evidence-based submissions. Most of the time the media tries to frame us wrongly and try to call us names.”
In addition, Seibeb said the LPM was indeed established on a tribal basis, but is now expanding and transforming into a national party.
He says African politics is tribal across the continent.
“That is the African political make-up. We have ethnic-based and tribal-based politics. When you want to start something, sociologically it has been proven that you start with people who relate to you regarding common issues. Ours were ancestral land and the genocide.
“That was the anchoring point.
So when you talk about genocide, and when you speak about land, the people who will respond to you the quickest will be those who were decimated during the genocide and those who have lost land,” he said.
Seibeb, however, thinks tribal politics, tribalism in general, is a problem that needs to be solved.
He said politicians and traditional authorities have a duty to educate their followers to desist from tribal politics.
“Our traditional authorities must also assist in dismantling ethnicity, ethnic politics and tribalism. It must start there. It is not only in politics, so we must address it in all spheres of life,” he said.
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