Dalene Kooper

KEETMANSHOOP – Former //Kharas Regional Council chairperson Joseph Isaacks on Saturday confirmed his suspension from the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), following remarks he made to a local media outlet about the party’s founding leader, Bernadus Swartbooi, being a dictator. 

The vocal politician maintains that the suspension is unlawful, arguing that such action should be carried out by a legitimate governing body rather than a political party.

“You know, Article 20 of our Constitution, sub-article 4, states that members of the founding executive will remain in office until the next People’s Assembly. That is a fixed period. I am part of the founding executive,” Isaacks said.

Speaking to New Era, Isaacks claimed the party failed to hear his side of the story after the media reports were published.

“They heard The Namibian’s version and, without any preliminary investigations, went ahead and suspended me. Their decision was one-sided,” he said.

He also expressed concern over what he described as blurred lines between party structures, accusing LPM administrators of assuming roles meant for the founding executive. “Administrators are acting as founding executives. Where does the separation of powers come in? The founding executive is now made up of newly appointed, recruited and favoured apprentices of Swartbooi,” Isaacks said. LPM spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa confirmed the suspension, stating it stemmed from comments Isaacks made to The Namibian newspaper.

“There was a meeting scheduled for Isaacks to air his grievances. Instead, he went to the media, and we found that problematic,” Simataa said. He added that investigations are ongoing, amid claims by Isaacks that his private conversations were leaked.

“We did reach out to the media house to confirm how they obtained his comments, and they confirmed it was through a phone call with him. Isaacks argues that his private texts were leaked; however, he did in fact have a conversation with the media,” Simataa said.

-dkooper@nepc.com.na