{"id":63415,"date":"2024-02-22T17:26:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T17:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls"},"modified":"2024-02-22T18:07:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:07:35","slug":"wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls","title":{"rendered":"Wounded Swanu divided ahead of polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>In yet another round of internal discord, Namibia\u2019s oldest political party Swanu continues to be embroiled in squabbles over the legitimacy of its leadership.<\/p>\n

As the party prepares for upcoming elections, divisions within its ranks risk jeopardising its unity and an elusive electoral success. At the heart of this fracas is the<\/p>\n

tit-for-tat between the party\u2019s secretary general Sam Tjikuzu and the party\u2019s member of parliament, Tangeni Iijambo.<\/p>\n

Tjikuzu labelled Iijambo as a purported member of parliament with ineffective leadership, while Iijambo countered by dismissing Tjikuzu\u2019s claim of being Swanu\u2019s secretary general as unfounded.<\/p>\n

Iijambo urged this publication to disregard Tjikuzu and his associates, asserting they are not legitimate members of Swanu, and have been unlawfully exploiting the party\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

In 2021, a group of Swanu members adopted a motion of no confidence in the party\u2019s politburo and central committee, accusing them of not having held meetings for three years. This faction convened for an extraordinary congress to adopt a motion of no confidence in the party\u2019s top brass, ultimately electing Charles Katjivirue as the party\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

That same year, another faction led by Iijambo, who was the party\u2019s president at the time, approached the High Court with claims that Katjivirue and his faction had convened a national congress and elected themselves as leaders of the party, contravening Swanu\u2019s constitution. The status report on this matter will be heard in court today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis [Iijambo\u2019s] leadership was dysfunctional, and as a result, we held an extraordinary congress where his team was outvoted, but they still persisted,\u201d claimed Tjikuzu.<\/p>\n

He added that the party\u2019s constitution states that once an extraordinary congress has been held and new members are elected to the politburo, the previous leadership is required to relinquish their positions, which did not occur. Tjikuzu accuses Iijambo of manoeuvring Evalistus Kaaronda, the other faction\u2019s president, into the position. \u201cHe [Ijambo] was saying he was going to retire from parliament and put new blood in his position because he wanted to bring Kaaronda to parliament. Unfortunately for them, Kaaronda was not on the party list, so they sought clarity from the legal fraternity on why Kaaronda would not go to parliament. They were apprehended, because the law stipulates that only those on the party list can go to parliament. After that, Iijambo made a U-turn on his decision to retire,\u201d continued Tjikuzu.<\/p>\n

Based on all this, he referred to Iijambo as a \u2018so-called\u2019 member of parliament.<\/p>\n

In turn, Iijambo accused Tjikuzu of belonging to a bogus group that is attempting to destabilise the party and the country. \u201cHim calling me \u2018so-called\u2019 while I am gazetted is ignorant. They don\u2019t belong to Swanu, and we don\u2019t entertain them. We are the Swanu that is recognised by the ECN and have a parliamentarian representing the party,\u201d Iijambo emphasised, delegitimising his opponents.<\/p>\n

Iijambo believes that when he and his faction made the party relevant, others suddenly desired to join the team. \u201cThe late Rihupisa Kandando, may his soul rest in peace, was a leader for more than 10 years, but didn\u2019t manage to make it to parliament. In fact, six of them were secretaries in my leadership, but were sabotaging from within,\u201d he added. Without mincing his words, he accused them of being a bunch of tribalists, who do not want an Oshiwambo-speaker to lead Swanu.<\/p>\n

Wanderlust<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tjikuzu is accusing his opponents of being opportunists who continually switch from one political party to another in search of greener pastures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have individuals who are merely seeking personal gain, hopping from one party to another. When they find dissatisfaction in one place, they move on to the next. Members should be aware of this. I can name many of them; they are attempting to hold the party hostage,\u201d observed Tjikuzu, who said he has been a party member since the age of 17 and is now 49. \u201cI have never left the party, and yet there are members joining who threaten to suspend me. Who are they?\u201d, he questioned.<\/p>\n

Fate<\/p>\n

As the nation gears up for the upcoming elections, the pressing question remains: will the electorate rally behind the beleaguered party?<\/p>\n

While this might concern many, Iijambo stated that the party is mobilising.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe party has a president, secretary general, a parliamentarian, and a politburo. Additionally, the party boasts 29 to 30 branches, with seven in the north, all thanks to Iijambo\u2019s administration\u201d, he confidently put it out there regarding the party\u2019s position for the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n

He, however, expressed concern that the party will lose many of its members due to the divisions. Attempts to unify the party have proven futile. \u201cTill today, they are refusing. There was a group which called for a meeting in Epukiro to address matters, but rumours have it that other<\/p>\n

people said if any of their members attend this meeting, they would be suspended,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Natji Tjirera advised the party to reunite. \u201cThe united Swanu only had one seat in parliament. If the leadership cares for the party, they will drop the court case and seek unity in one way or another. It is highly irresponsible for people to fight over the soul of a political movement, and in the process destroy it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwanu\u2019s ideology is one of the best. It can help rescue this nation. Instead of fighting, they must go back to the drawing board, and selflessly relinquish these positions. They should appoint somebody who will garner votes and effectively market the ideology. Currently, they are promoting conflicts, which doesn\u2019t interest the voters\u201d, Tjirera added.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. In yet another round of internal discord, Namibia\u2019s oldest political party Swanu continues to be embroiled in squabbles over the legitimacy of its leadership. As the party prepares for upcoming elections, divisions within its ranks risk jeopardising its unity and an elusive electoral success. At the heart of this fracas is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-63415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nWounded Swanu divided ahead of polls - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In yet another round of internal discord, Namibia\u2019s oldest political party Swanu continues to be embroiled in squabbles ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wounded Swanu divided ahead of polls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In yet another round of internal discord, Namibia\u2019s oldest political party Swanu continues to be embroiled in squabbles ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T17:26:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T18:07:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1708612360.214287.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"328\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Wounded Swanu divided ahead of polls\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-22T17:26:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T18:07:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\"},\"wordCount\":957,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1708612360.214287.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/wounded-swanu-divided-ahead-of-polls\",\"name\":\"Wounded Swanu divided ahead of polls - 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