Amidst deepening cracks of division within the party, the Utjiua Muinjangue-led Nudo leadership appears undeterred, as they have now set the dates for the party’s electoral college and manifesto launch.

The dates were officially confirmed by the party’s secretary general Josef Kauandenge, who said they will first hold their national executive committee meeting on 3 October before staging the all-important meeting of the party’s national council on 4 October.

The national council gathering will set the rules and procedures for the electoral college, which is slated for 5 October, and deliberate on whether the party will field a presidential candidate in the November elections, he shared.

An electoral college is an intraparty election conducted by political parties participating in the National Assembly elections to come up with a list of 96 members who will contest for seats in the National Assembly.

“If everything goes according to plan, we want to launch our manifesto on the Sunday of 6 October in Windhoek. It will be discussed at the national council meeting whether we will field a presidential candidate or not,” said the veteran politician.

Cracks 

Last week, the Muinjangue-led faction instituted legal proceedings against members of a breakaway group over an array of alleged indiscretions, which include convening an illegal congress and unlawfully occupying the party’s headquarters.

The Nudo splinter group, which a few weeks ago elected former football administrator Barry Rukoro as the party’s new president during a hastily-organised congress, has since been at loggerheads with the party’s last democratically elected leadership under president Muinjangue.

Rukoro was elected unopposed, as none of the other contesting candidates for the party’s presidency showed up at the disputed congress. 

The Muinjangue-led group has also rejected that congress and all its outcomes.

As things stand, and until the High Court pronounces itself on the legitimacy of the two factions, Nudo effectively has two leaders, with each claiming to be the authentic one. 

Meanwhile, an unrepentant Rukoro has maintained that he will continue fighting for his legitimacy and the interests of the party, and will soon launch counter-legal proceedings against the other group.

In July, despite splashing close to N$1 million, of which N$300 000 was reportedly borrowed to fill the budget deficit, Nudo failed to pull off an elective congress. 

That failure now has a huge financial and credibility cost, and further shattered the party’s unity.

The failed congress, for some members, has left what is being interpreted by certain quarters as a leadership vacuum. 

-ohembapu@nepc.com.na