Windhoek
Internal fights within the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP) have intensified, with one faction filing a lawsuit last week, while the other marched to two media houses to lodge their complaints.
The faction led by Hewat Beukes marched to the offices of New Era and The Namibian newspapers yesterday to deliver petitions.
In the petitions, the faction accused New Era of publishing confusing articles about who its leaders are.
“You do so despite the fact that the leadership is registered with the Electoral Commission [of Namibia] and you have full access to the facts,” claimed Beukes.
New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) Chief Executive Officer Dr Audrin Mathe accepted the WRP petition without making any comment.
The other faction, spearheaded by WRP parliamentarian Benson Kaapala, filed a court case last week, hoping the court would put to bed the debate on who is in charge of the party.
Due to the infighting and factionalism, the party currently does not receive any funding from the National Assembly for the two seats it occupies. The party is entitled to N$1.9 million from parliament’s coffers this year, paid in monthly instalments, but has not received a cent to date because of a dispute about which faction is in charge.
National Assembly Speaker Professor Peter Katjavivi yesterday told New Era that parliament was ready to release the funds to the party after the ombudsman gave the green light, but the process was halted after it emerged that the Kaapala faction had approached the court for relief.
“We made it clear to the party that as long as there are disputes and the leadership is being disputed, the law does not allow us to pay out party funds. We were petitioned by one of the factions and the matter is in the hands of the court now. There is nothing we can do until the case is finalised,” said Katjavivi. Despite that, Katjavivi said the two WRP MPs continue to receive their monthly salaries from the National Assembly and office space has been provided for them.
Kaapala yesterday confirmed that his faction took the matter to court last week.
“We tried our best to find a solution peacefully, but it looks like the other group is not willing to listen. We do not have the power to stop them unless we appear before court. The party is in a mess and Hewat [Beukes] is bitter,” charged Kaapala.
Kaapala’s faction is being represented by lay litigant August Maletzy.
Maletzky yesterday said the matter was filed in the High Court on Friday
“We presented the case last Friday asking them [High Court] to compel [Hewat] Beukes to recognise the fact that he is no longer the leader of the party. He must recognise that he was lawfully expelled by a duly constituted congress and he must desist from using the name of the party,” he said.
In its petition to New Era, the Beukes-led faction claimed that he [Beukes] was elected as the WRP leader last weekend.
“Take note herewith that our congress on 4 October 2015 has unanimously re-elected Hewat Beukes as its authorised representative, political secretary and leader of the WRP,” reads the petition.