McHenry Venaani, leader of the official opposition DTA, has always stated that he is in politics with a view to take over the governing of the country.
Charming and relatively charismatic, Venaani crawled his way into the heartland of Namibian voters last year to rescue his party from the ashes it was reduced to over the years.
To his credit, the DTA woke up from its slumber and is now the country’s official opposition, a status it had lost to CoD some years ago, before RDP wrestled that title in 2009.
Probably until this week, Venaani has been perceived as the leading character on the other side of the political divide – the opposition.
But whether this view is still intact after demeaning remarks Venaani made about resistance war hero Hendrick Witbooi, remains to be seen.
To be specific, Venaani argued – in parliament of all places – that Witbooi is ‘overrated’ as a hero. He insinuated that Herero chief Samuel Maharero and Captain Cornelius Frederick of the !Aman, were bigger heroes, who deserved recognition.
In fairness, Venaani was absolutely correct to highlight the need to accord other heroes recognition. Of course, there has been recognition of the heroics of the heroes named by Venaani, but if he feels this is not enough, the merits and demerits of that argument can be pursued separately.
But to argue that Witbooi is overrated, was a punch below the belt by the politician of Venaani’s calibre. It was an illiterate, if not dangerous, remark from a man who wants to one day become president for all Namibians. There is no wisdom in drawing comparisons between heroes of this country – especially not pertaining to who did more for the country than who.
Venaani’s own party co-operated with the colonial regime that killed and maimed thousands of innocent Namibians – so he should be the last person to speak about war heroes of this country.
If heroism was the ultimate measurement, his own party would be nowhere near being the official opposition because its history is that of a villain rather than a hero. Namibian heroes deserve full respect, especially from a generation that enjoys the fruits of the deeds of those heroes. It was never a popularity contest, as Venaani is trying to make it look like.
It would be ridiculous to think that when Maharero rebelled against German colonial authorities he did so to accumulate medals of war victories. He stood up for his people and his country.
Similarly, when Witbooi headed for the war that claimed his life on October 29, 1905, near Vaalgras, he did so with a clear conscience to free his people.
None of these leaders went to war to outshine the other in history books. They even worked together at some stage to face the common enemy. How dare you, McHenry!
Our message as a nation should be that of unity and peace. This is not to say that in the name of peace and unity we should not speak about the heroics of our forefathers. Leaders are expected to exercise caution so that their remarks do not make certain groups less wanted or relevant in the country.
In the gerontocracy context of Namibian politics, Venaani could be considered a young politician who can afford to make mistakes and correct them, as he grows older.
But being the leader of the official opposition comes with a heavy burden of caution and responsibility. For a fragmented and multicultural society like ours, communities can draw offence from any poorly calculated remarks, especially when made at such level.
In the final analysis, we must acknowledge the selfless contribution of all Namibian sons and daughters, who could have spared their energy for something else but chose to shed sweat and blood for the greater benefit of all of us.