Africa-Press – Namibia. The president of the Body of Christ Party (BCP), Festus Thomas, has defended his decision to appoint his wife as a signatory to the party’s bank account.
This was one of the allegations levelled against him by party members. Several party members last week in a petition accused the politician of irregularities, including misusing party funds for personal purposes, and corruptly using his wife as a signatory to the party’s bank account.
Thomas is the BCP’s sole representative in Parliament, following his party securing one seat in last year’s National Assembly election. In the petition, the party members stated that Thomas’ behaviour had changed, claiming he had become aggressive toward fellow party members and had started misusing his power by threatening people.They are also demanding that his wife be removed as a signatory to the party’s bank account. The petition further alleges that Thomas bought a personal vehicle using party funds without consulting the executive committee. When approached for comment yesterday, Thomas said all the allegations listed in the petition are untrue. “They want to tarnish my name. No money was misused. We have all the records,” he said. He revealed that his party has received a total of N$670 000 from fiscal through his single seat. Thomas said they have evidence from the party’s auditor, who always keeps the financial records. “BCP is a trusted party. We are following the right procedures as per the Namibian Constitution. We are not misusing the money,” he added.He clarified that the party purchased one vehicle, which he is currently using for work. “The car is registered under the party’s name. It does not belong to me,” he added. Thomas said that if he leaves the party, he will not take the vehicle with him because it belongs to the party. “We distributed money to our candidates contesting in regional and local authorities elections to use during campaigns, to make posters, buy T-shirts, and so on,” he further explained. Thomas emphasised that those accusing him are pastors who had demanded money to build their churches, but he did not approve the requests since the funds were not meant for constructing churches.
“Now they are angry because I said no money would be given to pastors to build churches. They started calling me corrupt and insulting me,” he said.
Thomas added that in January next year, the party will hold a congress where all members are expected to attend so the matter can be discussed and an amicable solution found. “Let’s have unity in our party. Spreading rumours won’t help us move forward, it will damage the reputation of our party. We are Christians,” he urged.
BCP has 10 candidates who are contesting for 10 constituencies in the Ohangwena region, as well as different local authorities.
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