Africa-Press – Namibia. The National Unity Democratic Organisation has lost its identity and nationalistic ideals, a situation that one of its founders, Hosea Kutako, would be ashamed of. This is according to Barry Rukoro, the former Namibia Football Association boss, who has now set sights on the coveted Nudo presidency.
“This is a party established by the person who is named the father of African nationalism. What I have seen over the last few days does not deserve to be associated with his name. We who have seen a party that is in complete disarray say that the quality of documents that are submitted to a national executive committee or the national council meeting is completely below par, not even at the level of the football association,” said Rukoro.
The party’s top brass are adamant that they are doing a sterling job, referring to the way the leadership has managed the public funds received from Parliament. Additionally, Nudo’s critics have accused the party of being a predominantly Ovaherero organisation.
Some have even gone on to suggest that Nudo is an extension of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority. Rukoro blamed these perceptions on those who led Nudo for the past decade.
“One thing that upsets me so much about Namibians is that we are in denial of what apartheid has done to us, and that the effects of apartheid persist and continue to exist in the fabric of the Namibian nation. It influences the way we think all the time,” he said, noting that Nudo, like other political formations at the time, had its foundation based on tribe.
“I’m not going to deny that the foundation of Nudo has a Herero origin. But I’m also not going to allow anybody to deny that the first time Hosea Kutako sat down with his chiefs council to form this party, he had nationalistic ideas,” he said.
He continued: “If you don’t tell your story, everything anybody talks about you becomes the truth. That is why we need change so that Namibians start to appreciate us for who we are, not for what they have been told all the time.”
Rukoro is expected to square off against Nudo secretary general Joseph Kauandenge, party vice president and Aminuis constituency councillor Peter Kazongominja, Windhoek deputy mayor Joseph Uapingene, and former Okakarara constituency councillor Vetaruhe Kandorozu. When the Nudo national council met over a week ago, consensus was not reached on who should or should not stand for the position. Instead, it has now been left to congress to decide on the candidate.
At the watershed indaba, over 500 Nudo loyalists will meet under one roof between 12 and 13 July to decide the party’s fate for the next five years. The incumbent party leader and deputy health minister Utjiua Muinjangue will not mount a fight to retain the position.
Membership
He then addressed his contested Nudo membership, saying he was among the first card-carrying members who officially joined the party after its defection from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, the present-day Popular Democratic Movement.
“We have crossed the rubicon… We have crossed the point of no return where we are saying we are going to stand for political office and contest the presidency of Nudo at the upcoming congress,” Rukoro told New Era last week during an interview.
“This issue was briefly discussed, and because it was not finalised, it was referred to the national executive committee for finalisation and reporting back to the NC,” Kauandenge said last week when asked about Rukoro’s candidature. According to Rukoro, Kauandenge is a conflicted man. “We are hearing through the grapevine that there is some unhappiness, but we are not concentrating on that. We are focused. We are keeping our eyes on the ball. We are pushing forward, regardless of whether people are happy or not. We are focused on ourselves. Kauandenge is conflicted. He can’t be a referee and player at the same time,” Rukoro said.
Asked what he brings to the table, Rukoro said, “I have dealt with football politicians all my life. So, politics is politics. The basic rules remain the same. I will be best-placed to marry politics and the administration of an organisation. That is the strength that I want to bring to the Nudo party in terms of how things should be done,” he said. Rukoro continued that he has come full circle, and is ready to take charge of Nudo.
“I think I have grown out of being supervised. I want to supervise. I am ready to lead a whole organisation. There’s nothing at Nudo. There’s not even a foundation stone. So, we are going to do all these things. It’s bricks and mortar stuff,” he said. Recently, Muinjangue accused some presidential aspirants of contesting for the position merely for employment purposes.
“I’m coming here for the sole purpose of inheriting an ideal vehicle so that I can use that vehicle to encourage other parliamentarians to start looking at politics as a vehicle. As a tool that must be used to bring fairness, parity and equality to the Namibian nation. That discourse, that discussion, is not in Parliament, particularly not from the Nudo party. We have been completely assimilated into a system that is adamant about keeping pushing the button of dividing our people,” he said.
Rukoro also took issue with Muinjangue for accepting the appointment as deputy health minister. According to him, Muinjangue should have consulted broadly with the Nudo rank and file before accepting the role.
“She should have asked me [members]. She did not. That is the biggest disappointment. And that is what we should avoid, going forward in politics. You know, your friends of today may be your enemies of tomorrow, and your enemies of today are your friends of tomorrow. But we must always go back to consult those who put us in power,” he said. According to Rukoro, he has been a silent member of Nudo due to the position he held at the NFA.
Genocide
Furthermore, Nudo has been at the forefront of the Nama and Ovaherero genocide issues for years. At the end of May 2021, Germany and Namibia reached an agreement in principle on a joint declaration in which the events were described as genocide “from today’s perspective.” In line with the agreement, €1.1 billion, or N$18 billion, is to be spent on reconstruction and development projects in Namibia over the next 30 years. This is while Namibia’s N$1.1 trillion demand considers loss of life, dispossession of land and displacement, amongst others.
“The proposal by the Germans is antagonism to the black race. They have no respect for the black race, which is why they are proposing that. And our government agreed to that, allowing the Germans to disrespect the black race,” said Rukoro. The German deal has been largely rejected by the affected communities, opposition parties in the Namibian Parliament, and traditional leaders. “It is time for our government to see that the people don’t want the deal. Let’s not speak about signing an unwanted deal. Let’s talk about how we correct what is wrong. We must restart the discussion from a fair position”.
Rukoro is adamant that Nudo’s current crop of parliamentarians has not done enough to advance the genocide debate in a bid to secure a fair deal, including just reparations, an unreserved apology and atonement.
“Nudo, particularly over the last five years, have completely gone silent on the genocide issue. Of course, we have been active when we are talking about a holiday for genocide and a memorial site for genocide. That, to me, is not important. The crux of the matter is apology, acknowledgement and reparations. We can build the memorial site later ourselves with our money after the Germans have paid us. I’m not interested in talking about memorial sites,” he said. Reacting to Rukoro’s statements, Kauandenge said the party can account for every cent they spent over the last five years, a feat he believes is worthy of praise.
“We heard that there are parties that were deregistered from the Electoral Commission of Namibia because they could not comply with the provision of the Electoral Act. Why was Nudo not deregistered if, for the five years, we could not account for the money that was given to us by the State?” Kauandenge asked recently. He made it clear that their finances are not in shambles, as purported by certain quarters.
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