KATIMA MULILO – A Swapo meeting was aborted last Saturday at Sangwali after Mayeyi Chief Boniface Shufu accused James Sankwasa of engineering a plot to dethrone him.
Sangwali is located 130 kilometres west of Katima Mulilo and hosts the Khuta of Chief Shufu.
Sankwasa is among the Swapo politicians expected to go to parliament in 2015 because he is number 45 on the party’s parliamentary list.
Well-placed sources accused Sankwasa of having undertaken secret campaigns to dethrone Chief Shufu and antagonising the Mayeyi Traditional Authority.
Initially the meeting at Sangwali was supposed to be addressed by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Tommy Nambahu, but he could not do so due to other commitments. This prompted Sankwasa, who was accompanied by Linyanti Constituency Councillor Cletius Sipapela, to stand in for him.
When this reporter arrived at Sangwali, the community had gathered in large numbers but proceedings were delayed and a meeting was held on the sidelines to try to find common ground.
An announcement was later made that the meeting was rescheduled for an undisclosed date because prior notice had not been given to the chief.
However, sources who spoke to this journalist said the chief refused to endorse the meeting because the community was expecting Nambahu and not Sankwasa who questioned the chief’s legitimacy on the basis that he does not have royal blood.
“The story of the chief not being told about the meeting is not even an issue. The chief refused because the people were expecting the deputy minister, not Sankwasa or Cletius Sipapela. How can we allow people that are opposed to the Mayeyi Traditional Authority to address us? The councillor has also been called several times by the chief but he has snubbed such calls,” said the source.
Another source who also chose not to be named, said the Mayeyi community was aware of meetings conspiring to dethrone Chief Shufu that took place at Samudono and Masokotwane.
“He (Sankwasa) is busy telling people that Shufu is not of royal blood and that the Matiti bloodline is the true heir to the throne. He is a distractor. We heard of meetings he has been leading at Samudono and Masokotwane denouncing the current chief,” said the source.
Another source noted Sankwasa insisted the Mayeyi still fell under the Mafwe Traditional Authority, adding that the Mayeyi community could not understand why Sankwasa would interfere in the affairs of the Mayeyi people when he falls under a different traditional authority. Previously the Mayeyi community used to fall under the Mafwe chieftainship before they broke away because they speak a language different to Sifwe and also have different cultural beliefs.
According to the source, Sangwali is a Swapo stronghold and their votes were guaranteed but people in the area felt provoked by the presence of Sankwasa and Sipapela, unless they apologised to the community for continuously undermining the traditional authority of Chief Shufu.
Nambahu confirmed that his absence at the meeting was as a result of official commitments but denied knowledge of the alleged confrontation between Sankwasa and the Mayeyi community.
“I could not be at the rally because at times our campaign meetings clash with official duties. I am at the behest of the comrades in the area; if they want to reschedule they can do that. On issues of the chief and Sankwasa unfortunately that’s news to me,” stated Nambahu.
Approached for comment Sankwasa noted he was called to fill in for Nambahu who could not make it to the meeting, and he denied ever having plans to dethrone the Mayeyi chief.
“I only came on board when the minister could not show up because of other commitments. We’re normally called to fill the gap. Stories that I want to dethrone the chief are rubbish. The chief has nothing to do with me. I have nothing to benefit from the Mayeyi chieftainship,” stated Sankwasa.
By George Sanzila