Swapo shuns AR, again

In an unprecedented move the ruling Swapo Party yesterday shut its doors to Affirmative Repositioning youth activists, saying it was no longer interested in them.Speaking to Namibian Sun, the Swapo party secretary for information and mobilisation, Helmuth Angula, said suspensions or expulsions are long processes which the party is not yet considering but the three “must just go”.The three members - Job Amupanda, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and George Kambala - had just returned to the Swapo fold in May after having been suspended for symbolically occupying a piece of land in Windhoek’s Kleine Kuppe area last year. According to Angula, Amupanda has insulted President Hage Geingob in a column titled ‘Etondo Lya Nehale’, published by a local weekly. “The insults and name calling of President Hage Geingob are uncalled for, disrespectful, derogatory, to say the least. They must be condemned in the strongest terms they deserve,” he said.Angula also dared the AR youth leaders to meet “at the “ballot box” in the next general election. “We are aware of the fact that the AR group is trying by all means to conceal their dubious intentions of creating a political party. They are aware that it can be cold outside the Swapo Party, and as such, are now looking for popular support through deceptive means of organising mass demonstrations against the very same government they claim to want to belong to,” said Angula. The party also made it clear that it did not want any apology from the AR members and urged its members to distance themselves from the movement.“Rotten apples will just spoil the rest. No amount of apology will change the genuine feelings of Swapo Party members, supporters and sympathisers and therefore the doors are now definitely closed,” said Angula. In his column, Amupanda said Geingob is “a good but naïve man who can take the country forward, but is often misguided and surrounded by vultures”.Amupanda also hit back at Geingob for saying the AR had only managed to attract 1 200 youth to join their march against the proposed N$2.2 billion parliament building. “The president needs to be reminded that he had youth locked in schools on a school holiday. Even if there were only 20 people or three people, is it for the head of state to celebrate and count attendance? “Even if his propaganda is to be believed, are we to be the first to have poorly attended meetings? Why is the president reducing himself to such pedestrian issues instead of focusing on reducing inequality? Why are we doing this, Namibia?” he asked.According to Amupanda the president is making a laughing stock of himself by counting the buses that came to Windhoek for the march.“Why is the president making such obvious factual mistakes, untruths and dealing in pedestrianism? He is also on record that he was counting buses and only four minibuses came from Oshana. We are still laughing at this statement. Is it now part of the president's duty to count buses?” he asked.JEMIMA BEUKES

Swapo shuns AR, again

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Swapo shuns AR, again

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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