Festus Nakatana
WINDHOEK – The ruling party has reacted angrily to a media report, which suggested that its top leadership snubbed Swapo Walvis Bay Urban by-election candidate.
Swapo has fielded Sirie Topulathana for tomorrow’s much-anticipated by-election. A local daily insinuated yesterday that Topulathana was seemingly isolated, as none of the top four leaders of Swapo: President Hage Geingob, vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa and deputy SG Marco Hausiku addressed any of her campaigns. The newspaper further claimed factionalism and the possibility of infuriating the town’s fishermen who lost their jobs following a wildcat strike in 2015 as possible reasons for “snubbing” the Swapo candidate.
Founding President Sam Nujoma addressed Topulathana’s final rally at Kuisebmond stadium on Saturday. However, in a strongly worded statement, deputy information and mobilisation secretary Veikko Nekundi dismissed the assertions raised in the article.
“It must be placed on a clear record that Comrade Topulathana was nominated by the Swapo Party members in Walvis Bay constituency. She was equally vetted and qualified by the party as in practice with every candidate fielded by the party,” Nekundi explained.
“Therefore, it does not make any sense, neither logic, nor common sense for the leadership to have cleared a candidate, only to “snub” her during the election campaign.”
Nekundi further added that the Saturday rally was addressed by one of the most senior members of the party in the mould of Nujoma, compared to other campaign rallies held on Saturday at Gobabis, Keetmanshoop and Windhoek.
“The journalists stated that the candidate did not receive any support from the party.
“It must be put on record that in terms of financial and material support, our capable candidate for Walvis Bay Urban Constituency has received equal support with the rest of the party candidates for the by-elections,” he said.
“We challenge the journalists concerned to provide their readers by how much margin on material and/or financial support the candidate for Walvis Bay Urban Constituency has received short in comparison to other candidates. Equally, in terms of the moral support, considering the Founding Father’s address, which other party candidate for the by-elections has received a speaker of magnitude of the leader of the Namibian revolution in comparison to the Walvis rally? On the same note, the journalists informed readers that our candidate lacked confidence and comfortability.
On the first instance, we challenge the journalist to inform the nation on what scientific tool or method they have used to arrive at such a conclusion.
We, therefore, place it on record that all our candidates for the by-elections are moulded in confidence and comfortability equal to none and that the party leadership provides equal support – be it moral, financial or material support to all our candidates.