WALVIS BAY – In a surprising move, Knowledge Ndunge Ipinge, an influential young politician
from Walvis Bay, has rejoined the Swapo Party.
He previously ran as an independent candidate during the 2020 elections, and represented the Walvis Bay Rural constituency.
In an interview with New Era, he said he has always remained affiliated with the party.
“My outlook has been largely influenced by Swapo presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s leadership philosophy, rooted in pragmatism, integrity, accountability, meritocracy and inclusivity,” he said.
A new membership card was presented to him on Saturday at the party’s star rally, highlighting the significance of social justice activism, a fundamental aspect of his political identity.
He asserted that his dedication lies in ensuring the realisation of Swapo’s vision, particularly in terms of local communities reaping the benefits from natural resources, and authentically executing the enablers outlined in both the party manifesto and Nandi-Ndaitwah’s leadership vision for Namibia.
“It is truly realised, not just lip service like in the past where we’ve seen good documents, but very limited achievements,” he said.
Ipinge called on Walvis Bay residents and the Namibian youth to support Swapo.
He also addressed speculation about his relationship with the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement, saying “I refuse to participate in any discussion that attempts to create a narrative of bad blood between myself, AR and any of the activists with whom I have shared an advocacy relationship since 2014”.
Henny Seibeb, who co-founded the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) with Bernadus
Swartbooi and left LPM earlier this year to rejoin Swapo, was also introduced to the supporters on Saturday. “There was no other party that could speak to me after I left LPM. Swapo’s internal processes are good in terms of democracy. When you are wrong, you know where to go. But also, in terms of its ideology, there is no other party close to that,” he said.
He stated that smaller political parties lack depth and experience in leadership, and that no other political party is capable enough to run the country. “Politics is not a one-man show, and that is what we are seeing with the smaller parties. You have one capable leader, and the rest are inexperienced when it comes to matters that shape a country… Swapo has a wealth of expertise from middle management as well as knowledgeable people. The party has that critical mass of people who can step in and continue. But when you look at smaller parties, beyond their top leaders, they don’t have that,” he said. AR spokesperson George Kambala told New Era that they were not aware of Ipinge’s plans, but were not surprised. “Some people already left us in 2020, but we continued, and here we are. We are unshaken,” he said. -edeklerk@nepc.com.na
In the fold… Walvis Bay independent candidate Knowledge Ndunge Ipinge has returned to Swapo.
Photo: Contributed