Africa-Press – Namibia. SWAPO secretary general Sophia Shaningwa has called for unity in the party, warning it would collapse if it was not united.
She was speaking at the 32nd Independence Day celebrations at Omhakoya village at Outapi in the Omusati region.
Shaningwa said Swapo is “one party”.
“There are no two Swapos. There is only one Swapo that was led by Sam Nujoma. Anyone who is still stuck with Team Swapo or Team Harambee, wake up – Swapo is one.
“If we are not united, Swapo will be destroyed. Let’s unite. We don’t want division. If Swapo collapses, where will our children go?” she asked.
‘Team Swapo’ and ‘Team Harambee’ refer to two party factions which contested for Swapo leadership at a watershed elective congress in 2017.
Team Swapo comprised senior Swapo leaders Nahas Angula, Helmut Angula, Jerry Ekandjo, Petrina Haingura, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, and Armas Amukwiyu.
This group claimed Swapo was in tatters and needed to reinvent itself.
Team Harambee was comprised of president Hage Geingob, Shaningwa, her deputy, the late Marco Hausiku, and party vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
This grouping was said to believe Swapo had not changed, so the legacy thus continues.
Shaningwa on Saturday said it is saddening to hear some people saying the country was better off under the apartheid government than the current one.
She urged leaders to work hard to deliver service to the people, and urged political and church leaders to ensure that children get national documents such as birth certificates and identification cards to enable them to be admitted to schools.
“Children, take your education seriously to become pilots and doctors. If anyone offers you drugs, run away and report them to the police so they can be dealt with. Don’t sell the country. Cowards don’t rule a country,” she said.
Although Shaningwa called for unity in the party, Omusati governor Erginus Endjala said Namibians should make peace with Swapo saying “those who are not happy must swallow marula fruit”.
He also castigated former Outapi councillor Fillemon Shikwambi.
Shikwambi is a former Swapo councillor who served as Outapi constituency councillor from December 2015 to November 2020.
When he got defeated in the party’s primary elections, he was accused of making comments perceived to be detrimental to Swapo and its leaders.
“I can’t even remember his name,” Endjala said when asked if Shikwambi is still part of “us”.
He also said veterans of the liberation struggle who have left Swapo are not true freedom fighters.
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