Africa-Press – Namibia.
The Zambezi Region will be a hotly contested zone during the upcoming Regional Council and Local Authority Elections, amid a challenging past and recent administrative irregularities.
The region is made up of eight constituencies. These are Katima Mulilo Urban, Katima Mulilo Rural, Kongola, Kabbe North, Kabbe South, Linyanti, Sibbinda and Judea Lyaboloma constituencies.
The 2020 Regional Council election, the Zambezi Region was hotly contested between Swapo and independent candidates.
Swapo won the Katima Mulilo Urban with John Muchila receiving 1831 of the votes, followed by Matengu Mweti Marklee of PDM, who amassed 557 votes.
The Katima Mulilo Rural constituency was also won by a Swapo candidate, Simushi Wardens Matengu obtaining 1290, followed by Sankwasa Daniel Sinyemba of PDM (352 votes) and Mahoto Innocent of IPC (303 votes). Another Swapo stronghold is the Kabbe South constituency with Likando John Musialela of Swapo earned 1001 votes followed by Maswahu Maswahu of PDM with 56 votes.
The same trend followed in the Kabbe North constituency as Sisamu Kamwi
of Swapo got 1116 votes followed by Matali Likando of IPC (292 votes).
Independent candidates have provided a stern competition for the remaining constituencies as Divai Humphrey (with 1250 votes) defeated Swapo’s Sinalumbu Bafeze (722 votes) in the Judea Lyaboloma constituency. Another independent candidate, Busihu Bennety Likulela emerged victorious in the Kongola Constituency with1236.
He claimed the victory ahead of the Swapo’s Muluti David Siyayo (538 votes and Walubita Adams Mayando of PDM (384 votes).
In the Linyanti constituency, independent candidate Kabunga Ivene Vistor also emerged as the winner after receiving 1903 votes. Vistor was followed by Swapo’s Musukubili Mwangala
Sonnia with 925 votes.
Challenging past
In the past, the region was marred by a difficult history. Reportedly, former Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) – now known as Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), president, Mishake Muyongo was linked to the formation of the Caprivi Liberation Army, advocating for the secession of the Caprivi strip.
After being suspended from DTA, he fled to Denmark in 1998. This followed an ongoing treason trial connected the conflict in the area.
The Zambezi Region has also been riddled with mismanagement as the Zambezi Regional Council’s chief regional officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda and other senior officials were arrested in October by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for allegedly corruptly using the office for gratification and conspiracy to commit offences in a project worth N$4 million.
This has led to residents protesting about the prolonged delays in projects and budget allocations.
With these recent events, residents have been left with a lot of power to hold their leaders accountable by making their votes count. For the 2025 Regional Council election, a total of 54 347 total registered voters from the total eligible of 62 900. This represents an 86% registration percentage. The Katima Mulilo urban constituency makes up the bulk of these voters, with 20 462 total registered voters. This is followed by Katima Mulilo Rural with 6 516 registered voters.
The rest of the constituencies Sibbinda (6 465), Kongola (5 035), Kabbe North (4 314), Kabbe South (3 687) and Judea Lyaboloma (3 438).
Sibbinda Constituency – Lukaezi Micky Mumbali IPC (1 693 votes), Chunga Ignatius Chunga (1 160 votes), Pateho Matengu Elvis PDM (268 votes).
The region has one local authority – Katima Mulilo. Affirmative Repositioning, All People’s Party, Independent Patriot’s for Change, National Democratic Party of Namibia, Popular Democratic Movement, Republican Party, Swapo, the United Party of Namibia and the Katima Alliance Development Association will seek to gain seats in the local authority election.
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