Swapo extraordinary congress urgent application in court today

An urgent application seeking to compel Swapo to hold its extraordinary congress before the November election, brought by five party members, is scheduled to be heard in the Windhoek High Court today.

Swapo member Reinhold Shipwikineni and four others claim party presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah became a candidate in an irregular manner.

They stressed that if their case is not heard before the general election next month, they will lack recourse if she is elected because a president can only be removed through parliamentary impeachment.

The urgent application comes exactly six weeks ahead of the National Assembly and presidential elections at a time the party is desperate to keep the ship afloat amidst money woes and internal strife.

High Court judge Eileen Rakow has directed all implicated parties and their legal representatives to attend the urgent application hearing today.

‘Unconstitutional’

The five dissenting Swapo members are suing the party and its leaders for allegedly violating the party constitution by deferring an extraordinary congress to 2025 following the death of party president Hage Geingob in February.

The Swapo constitution demands that in a situation like this, an extraordinary congress should be convened within 90 days to elect a new party president. The Swapo succession policy further states that the party's president is the automatic presidential candidate in the national election, unless they are ineligible.

It is because of these requirements that Shipwikineni and his co-applicants consider Nandi-Ndaitwah to be an unconstitutional presidential candidate for Swapo.

In their application, they charge that, in addition to a serious breach of the party constitution, Nandi-Ndaitwah nominated 10 members to the party's parliamentary list, something she had no authority to do without an extraordinary congress having elected her as president of the party.

Increasing urgency

As a result, the applicants have escalated their case to a matter of urgency, fearing they will have no influence over parliamentary processes.

According to them, what justifies this urgency is the nomination of Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Ephraim Nekongo, Indileni Daniel, Alpheus !Naruseb, Ruth Masake, Elijah Ngurare, Linda Mbwale, Dino Balotti, Fenny Kutyavi and Veikko Nekundi.

“If the urgent relief is not granted, we shall not obtain any substantial relief at any forum in future. This is so because the vacation of parliamentary seats, after the nominees are sworn in as MPs on 21 March 2025, on the basis that they were appointed on the party list by Nandi-Ndaitwah, who acted outside her power, is not one of the reasons listed for their removal in the Namibian constitution. I respectfully submit that there are thousands of members and supporters who fear possible victimisation who will welcome this application,” Shipwikineni noted in court documents.

In her recent submission in another case brought against the party by Shipwikineni, Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa described Shipwikineni's lawsuit as abusive and malicious, arguing that the applicants merely want to damage the party. Shaningwa also stated the party did not hold a congress this year in order to avoid further divisions ahead of the November elections.

She added that Swapo also does not have the funds to convene an extraordinary congress.

Suing the party alongside Shipwikineni are Petrus Shituula, Joshua Martins, Erich Shivute and Aina Angula.

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