Kandjimi election above board, NUST says
The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) has responded to allegations of favouritism and corruption after Shoki Kandjimi was elected an alumni representative on the university’s council.
The election process, which began on 11 September and concluded the next day, saw Kandjimi reign victorious with 105 - or 53.3% - of the votes, compared to his opposition Juno Angula, who secured 90 votes or 45.6%.
A letter accusing the university of favouring Kandjimi was sent out this week, just one day before the results were made public.
"We are writing to express our deep concern as staff members of this once prestigious university regarding gross misconduct, unfair bias and unethical favouritism in the nomination and campaign processes for the position of alumni representative to the NUST council.
“More specifically, the campaign of Shoki Kandjimi (in contrast to the other candidate, Juno Angula) threatens the integrity of the election process and raises serious questions about the ethical conduct of our institution," the letter addressed to the NUST management read.
Free, fair, transparent
According to NUST spokesperson John Haufiku, the elections were fair and the results are a representation of the alumni community's will.
"The Office of the Registrar, which oversees the elections, has confirmed that the elections were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner and that the results reflect the alumni community's will.
“This is an essential democratic process of inclusion in which everyone is represented in the governance of our esteemed institution," he said in a statement.
Haufiku highlighted that out of 10 912 alumni members, only 197 participated in the election process.
Unfair advantage
The letter also took aim at the university for ‘allowing’ Kandjimi to make use of its resources to further his campaign, yet not doing the same for Angula.
"Kandjimi's campaign poster was exclusively designed in-house by NUST staff within the marketing department, the custodians of official NUST templates and branding. Remarkably, Angula was not afforded the same courtesy.
“This glaring disparity not only bestows an unfair advantage upon Kandjimi, but also strongly implies that he is the university's preferred candidate.
“It is imperative that we question the motives behind this unequal treatment and demand transparency regarding who authorised this preferential treatment," it added.
NUST Foundation director Katira Kandjii declined to comment on the matter.
The election process, which began on 11 September and concluded the next day, saw Kandjimi reign victorious with 105 - or 53.3% - of the votes, compared to his opposition Juno Angula, who secured 90 votes or 45.6%.
A letter accusing the university of favouring Kandjimi was sent out this week, just one day before the results were made public.
"We are writing to express our deep concern as staff members of this once prestigious university regarding gross misconduct, unfair bias and unethical favouritism in the nomination and campaign processes for the position of alumni representative to the NUST council.
“More specifically, the campaign of Shoki Kandjimi (in contrast to the other candidate, Juno Angula) threatens the integrity of the election process and raises serious questions about the ethical conduct of our institution," the letter addressed to the NUST management read.
Free, fair, transparent
According to NUST spokesperson John Haufiku, the elections were fair and the results are a representation of the alumni community's will.
"The Office of the Registrar, which oversees the elections, has confirmed that the elections were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner and that the results reflect the alumni community's will.
“This is an essential democratic process of inclusion in which everyone is represented in the governance of our esteemed institution," he said in a statement.
Haufiku highlighted that out of 10 912 alumni members, only 197 participated in the election process.
Unfair advantage
The letter also took aim at the university for ‘allowing’ Kandjimi to make use of its resources to further his campaign, yet not doing the same for Angula.
"Kandjimi's campaign poster was exclusively designed in-house by NUST staff within the marketing department, the custodians of official NUST templates and branding. Remarkably, Angula was not afforded the same courtesy.
“This glaring disparity not only bestows an unfair advantage upon Kandjimi, but also strongly implies that he is the university's preferred candidate.
“It is imperative that we question the motives behind this unequal treatment and demand transparency regarding who authorised this preferential treatment," it added.
NUST Foundation director Katira Kandjii declined to comment on the matter.
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