Africa-Press – Namibia. THE celebration of the ruling Swapo Party’s 62nd anniversary has rekindled the old rivalries between Oshana regional coordinator Samuel Nelongo and a group of the party’s Foot Soldiers.
The latest clash of titans concerns the invitation of top leaders of the party to address celebratory events in the region. The ruling Swapo Party was founded on 19 April 1960 succeeding the Ovambo People’s Organization (OPO).
While the preparations for the 62nd anniversary are underway, some Swapo Foot Soldiers in the Oshana Region have resorted to social media to accuse Nelongo of taking unilateral decisions.
It is alleged that Nelongo unilaterally invited the party’s Vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to address a rally at Ongwediva on Saturday, a decision that is the prerogative of the Regional Executive Committee (REC).
However, Nelongo dismissed the accusation as baseless. He said that, contrary to what the Foot Soldiers are alleging, it was the REC that invited the Vice-president.
He said that the REC held a meeting on 27 March which was attended by Veikko Nekundi, the chairman of national leaders assigned to the region. The agenda of the meeting included the preparations for the anniversary celebrations.
However, that specific item was referred to the next meeting due to time constraints. The REC met again on 4 April and the draft program was adopted with some amendments.
But when the REC met again on 12 April, there was a letter from the Foot Soldiers requesting the REC to invite Secretary-General Sophia Shaningwa to address them (the Foot Soldiers) on 17 April, a day after the Vice-president’s appearance at Ongwediva.
This, the REC considered improper since the Vice-president’s response to the invitation was still pending. It was, therefore, decided to integrate the planned drive through with the regional program on 16 April and invite the Secretary-General to address the Foot Soldiers on 2 May.
As things turned out, the Vice-president communicated on 13 April that she won’t be available on Saturday and the event is now postponed to a date to be announced in due course. Nelongo pointed out that celebratory events at district level go ahead as planned, but there are no events taking place at regional level.
“The REC would like to make it categorically clear that any activities taking place in the region, including those organized by the Foot Soldiers, do not have the blessings of the REC,” he said.
The Foot Soldiers is a parallel, informal structure of volunteers that is mostly activated during election campaigns and before and during important party events. Some Foot Soldiers clashed with Nelongo in 2020 when they locked the party’s regional office demanding his removal from that position.
The rekindling of the friction appears to point to what is to come as the party prepares for this year’s ordinary congress and party members try to advance their preferred candidates to the top four positions. Oshana regional coordinator Samuel Nelongo.
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