Swapo walkout at Rundu as mess continues

The Swapo Rundu Urban District executive staged a walkout during an election and swearing-in ceremony of office-bearers for the Rundu town council on Friday.This after Swapo Rundu Urban District coordinator Gabriel Hakusembe and fellow Swapo member Gabriel Kanyanga did not take lightly to Magistrate Hellen Olaiya's decision to not accommodate their objection to the ceremony. The two were joined in their walkout by other Swapo members.Hakusembe and Kanyanga objected to Magistrate Olaiya while she was presiding over the ceremony, which took place at the Rundu Magistrate's Court.They informed the magistrate that a matter involving three councillors, Isak Kandingu, Anastacia Antonio and Toini Hausiku, who were reportedly recalled by the executive committee from serving on the Rundu town council, is being dealt with by the Swapo politburo, therefore they cannot be sworn in.In fact, this is the second time Hakusembe interjected Olaiya, as he previously did so during the same event last December at the council chambers, which led to the event being postponed until further notice.However, on Friday Olaiya informed Hakusembe and Kanyanga that she will not allow party politics to play out in the chamber before warning them that if they continued with their behaviour, she would let the police intervene and remove them from the venue.“As I have said, I am just in charge of the swearing-in ceremony. Anyone who has a problem, sort it out. If I get any more interruptions, I will have no other choice but to allow the police officers to do their work and remove whosoever wants to interrupt as I am going to proceed with the process that brought me here,” she said.Kanyanga and Hakusembe then stood and informed their fellow group of Swapo members to excuse themselves from the event.Olaiya proceeded with the election and swearing-in ceremony, which however turned out to be not fully unsuccessful.Although Kandingu was duly nominated and elected as the new mayor of Rundu, the event had to be postponed to today after no nomination was made for the occupation of the deputy mayor position.Neither Kandingu, Hausiku, Antonio or All People's Party councillor Mathew Wakudumo responded to Olaiya's request for nominations for the position.Olaiya then packed up her books before saying she would consult the law as to what should happen next.For the past year, Rundu town council has been without a deputy mayor after Hausiku, who was elected into the position last year, had to resign to occupy a seat at the management committee, which was incomplete and has affected decision-making.With only four councillors in the chambers, Namibian Sun understands that the four decided not to nominate for the deputy mayor position in hopes that Antonio, Hausiku and Wakudumo will be able to fill the three seats on the management committee.In the midst of all the political squabble within the ruling party, Rundu continues to face a number of challenges as both tar and gravel roads are littered with potholes, waste heaps up all around town and the ever-expanding informal settlements increase cases of illegal water connections.Kenya Kambowe

Swapo walkout at Rundu as mess continues

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-08

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Swapo walkout at Rundu as mess continues

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-08

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