Matheus Hamutenya
Keetmanshoop
Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency Councillor Elias !Kharuxab has shot down claims that he had asked his volunteer to stop working at his office because he is a member of the Landless People’s Movement.New Era understands that Charles Jossop has been a volunteer at the councillor’s satellite office at the Women’s Action for Development (WAD) centre in Keetmanshoop since November last year, but was towards the end of last month informed he could no longer work there.Jossop claims he was told by the councillor that this was due to his affiliation with LPM, a movement Jossop has fondly supported since its inception.
“He told me he got complaints from the community about him having someone from LPM in his office, and he said that we cannot work together because we do not share the same ideologies,” he said.
Jossop said it is unfortunate because the councillor’s office should serve all people, and anyone can work there irrespective of party affiliation.
“It is a public office, not a Swapo office – it does not mean I cannot work there because I am from LPM,” he said.
!Kharuxab however denied claims that Jossop was asked to stop work because of his association with LPM, saying the situation arose because he was not active in carrying out his duties, as he had other responsibilities to attend to, and thus spent little time at the office, which left the councillor with no choice but to get another volunteer.
He explained that the two had some kind of gentleman’s agreement, saying it was nothing official and nothing was on paper, and because Jossop was not doing much, he got a new volunteer to ensure the office runs smoothly.
“Charles was not pro-active, it is difficult even to contact him, so I said I have my party ideologies which I am mandated to execute, and what I expect from anyone, no matter which party, is to do what is expected of you,” he said.
Despite denying the allegations, the councillor said that Jossop did not inform him of his affiliation with LPM, even after actively participating in the movement’s events several times, adding that to make matters worse he found many LPM documents in his office, which he said is not good for a public facility.
“The biggest challenge was when I came to the office and found a lot of LPM information there, and I represent the public and do not want to confuse people at the end of the day, and based on that I told him that we cannot work together,” he said.
!Kharuxab further denied claims that he had sent any message to Jossop telling him that he was disappointed that he supports LPM, and that he has a huge potential to become someone in future, and that he can reach his potential if he aligns with the right party and not joins upcoming parties.
The councillor showed New Era the messages exchanged between the two, saying he had at no point sent him such a message, adding it is fabricated.
••••• Caption- Councillor
Photo: Matheus Hamutenya