British statesman Winston Churchill once defined Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”
Churchill’s description best describes young entrepreneur-cum-activist Michael Amushelelo, whose influence on the political landscape, labour issues and head-on collisions with the powers that be cannot be ignored.
A flamboyant young man who promised his followers in the forex trading business mammoth returns on their investments, Amushelelo or Stokkie, as he is affectionately known, has now become a self-styled messiah wherever and whenever Namibians feel oppressed.
Surprisingly, his unorthodox and unconventional approach is yielding results, at least in the interim.
Some say he has taken over the space of labour unions, while others say his presence has rendered several youth leagues of established political parties useless.
It remains to be seen if Amushelelo’s purported love for his countrymen is genuine, or not just another self-serving agenda to buy public sympathy over the long list of criminal charges he faces.
What is clear, however, is that Amushelelo is loved and loathed in almost equal measure.
Many are scratching their heads, questioning whether a “wind of change” is blowing across the country, or it is just a storm in a teacup.
New Era’s Edward Mumbuu sat down with the politician to untangle his paradoxical nature.
Genesis
Born Michael Saddam Amushelelo in Oshikoto’s Oniipa settlement on 22 January 1991, the activist grew up in a traditional set-up, primarily toiling the field and herding livestock.
At Oniipa, he was raised by his mother and grandmother. Both instilled in him his never-say-die attitude, and to never take no for an answer.
He is the oldest among seven siblings.
He prefers keeping his family life private.
When he was two, Amushelelo’s father, a soldier, moved him to Windhoek in the quest for better future prospects for his son.
His father, he said, ingrained discipline in him.
“You know how military people are. They are strict. I think part of why I am a bit disciplined is because of that side of my father. I say I am a bit disciplined because I am not entirely like my father.
“My father was a man used to getting orders. I for one am not used to just being a yes man. I always like to challenge things,” he said with a chuckle.
The 32-year-old is named after former Iraqi politician and supreme leader, Saddam Hussein, whose downfall began in 2003 when the United States led an invasion force into Iraq to topple his government, which had controlled the country for more than 20 years.
He is not ashamed of the name. Instead, he draws inspiration from it.
“You need to admire what the man [Saddam] has done,” he said, adding that a one-sided, negative narrative was told about Hussein.
“I can draw some similarities from him in the sense that I am able to stand up to superpowers, the same way he was able to stand up to America… a name can be a blessing or a curse, I think I am blessed,” he beamed.
Saddam Hussein was born into a poor family in Tikrit, 100 miles outside of Baghdad, in 1937. After moving to Baghdad as a teenager, Saddam joined the now-infamous Baath party, which he would later lead. He participated in several coup attempts, finally helping to install his cousin as dictator of Iraq in July 1968.
“He [Saddam] died a man. He could’ve easily fled his country and lived in some foreign country. But as a man, he died while saying he’s going to defend his country. And that’s what I am saying as well. I am going to die defending my country,” he reasoned.
On 13 August 2021, Amushelelo tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend in a low-profile but glamorous wedding, where only a few relatives were invited.
“I love money. I didn’t feel the need to feed over 200 people and after feeding them, they would still go and say ‘there was not enough alcohol or food’ at my wedding,” he said, pointing out the costly weddings Namibians have become accustomed to.
Amushelelo would rather invest N$500 000 in a business venture than a wedding ceremony.
“A lot of times why marriages fail is because people get into debt in order to show off nice, massive weddings. As a result, half of the time, the couples are arguing about it,” he noted.
Together, they have a six-year-old daughter, who has also largely been kept out of the limelight.
“I want her to grow up like a normal child,” he added.
Academia
His academic journey begins in Katutura’s Soweto in Penning Street at Moses van der Byl Primary School.
Amushelelo would then proceed to Concordia College – once a mecca of academic excellence – where he completed his matric.
“In grade 12, I obviously didn’t get the required results needed for tertiary education. I remember getting 24 points and a G in mathematics,” he reminisced.
Following advice from his parents, Amushelelo registered with a local college to improve the results, as they fervently believed that “one needed to be a teacher or nurse [hold a tertiary qualification] in order to be recognised by society.”
After improving the results, he applied to the University of Namibia with the hope to pursue a degree, either in law or media studies.
He, however, never got to realise these dreams.
Business empire
However, from a very young age, Amushelelo had business acumen.
His mother, he said, was the first business person he encountered.
“Growing up, she would always find new ways to make money while still employed, trying to provide for the family. She is literally a go-getter and doesn’t believe in a no,” he said.
Throughout his primary and secondary schooling, the businessman-turned-activist sold sweets, homemade sandwiches and later recharge vouchers as well as a variety of fast foods.
Selling sweets earned him the nickname Stokkie or Lollipop.
After high school, he ventured into the cleaning business before becoming a street vendor, selling basic daily needs.
Last year, New Era reported that the Bank of Namibia would institute an investigation into an Amushelelo housing initiative, which promises to deliver affordable housing. One of the Affirmative Repositioning movement’s founders, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, is also part of this project.
The housing scheme is under the banner Property Group Save Namibia (PGSN).
At present, PGSN is not registered as a building society in Namibia. A building society is a financial institution regulated by and owned by its members as a mutual organisation that offers banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending.
Some members of the public have questioned the envisaged estate’s credibility.
Their fear is mainly premised on the ownership of the land in Brakwater, where the settlement will be built, and why no applications have been made with the City of Windhoek for bulk services or any other land-related matters.
According to its pamphlet, PGSN proposes to establish Brakwater Estate on Portion 60 (a portion of Portion H) of the Farm Brakwater no. 48.
Amushelelo confirmed that they have formally approached the municipality, and have since submitted their application.
New Era could not independently verify this.
Collision
As time went by, Amushelelo’s entrepreneurial dreams got bigger.
Eventually, he would collide with authorities after venturing into forex trading and the bitcoin market.
Through these enterprises, he offered lessons on how to trade, while simultaneously trading on behalf of depositors, promising returns of over 50% within less than two months.
The self-proclaimed multimillionaire first landed in hot water with authorities in October 2019, when he – alongside business partner Gregory Cloete – was arrested on criminal charges in connection with an alleged fraudulent investment scheme that they ran during 2018 and 2019.
“I don’t look like money… I am money,” he boasted.
It is alleged in court papers that investors paid a total amount of N$86.9 million into bank accounts of Amushelelo and entities controlled by him during this period.
They face 365 criminal charges.
The charges, he said, are bogus, politically-motivated and aimed at clipping his wings.
“If you looked at the initial charges that the State had charged us with, they were mainly two charges, money laundering and fraud. Then they took almost six months to come up with [more] because they realised ‘we might not get him on the fraud or money laundering’,” he claimed.
“It is like them casting a net as wide as possible, hoping to catch something… regardless of whether the other 364 charges were baseless, if they get you on one, they’ll still be able to lock you up,” he theorised.
In May 2022, Amushelelo and Nauyoma were arrested after leading a protest against Chinese businesses being allowed to sell counterfeit goods, while Namibians’ counterfeit goods were being destroyed by the Namibia Revenue Authority (NamRA).
They spent 99 days behind bars before their release. The charges have since been dropped.
If anything, prison has only fortified the activist’s passion.
Within the past 14 months, Amushelelo has led protests over workers’ issues, confronting conglomerates to improve employment conditions.
He blamed his involvement in labour matters to the failure of unions and the labour ministry.
Using an example, Amushelelo sees himself as a cleaner in a hospital, assisting a bleeding patient while the doctor [labour ministry] and nurse [unions] stand aside and look.
He also has a culpable homicide cloud hanging over his head, and has a myriad of other legal worries.
At the time of going to print yesterday, Amushelelo was again in police custody in Windhoek, purportedly for participating in an illegal protest involving City of Windhoek contract labour employees.
Also yesterday, he appeared in the Windhoek High Court in a matter where the Prosecutor General is seeking a final preservation order against his seized assets, including cars and cash.
Earlier this week, police chief Joseph Shikongo indicated that he is going ahead with a million-dollar suit against Amushelelo, who is agitating for Shikongo’s arrest after the latter was involved in a fatal accident in December. The outspoken activist insists Shikongo must be arrested, and will see the top cop in court to defend the suit.
Drive
But the relentless focus by the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters’ (NEFF) economic commissar on the inequality and abuse of workers in Namibia, and the failure of the ruling Swapo Party to redistribute land and other strategic resources from the white minority to the black majority, has made Amushelelo a focal person nationally.
“We have a very big country with a very small population. To make matters better, we are blessed with an abundance of natural resources. But for some reason, these resources are not equitably distributed. Now, what angers me as a young person is that I know for a fact that we have more than enough to cater for every Namibian,” Amushelelo asserted.
It is his conviction that with the type of opulence Namibia is endowed with, none of its citizens should go to bed without a proper meal, or be relieving themselves in the bushes, or even living in a makeshift facility, or be unemployed.
“This country needs proper leadership. Once we have that in place, I’m sure this country would be one of the most prosperous in the world,” he reasoned.
Guidance
Social commentator Natjirikasorua Tjirera believes the activist brings something different to the table.
“Amushelelo needs our support as a collective. I personally do not agree with his modus operandi sometimes, but the fact that he is out there fighting a regime that needs to be fought by all speaks volumes.
“Maybe his youthful energy needs to be blended with a bit of calmness that comes from matured minds. But simply sitting by and watching him fight alone for the good of all of us makes us cowards,” Tjirera stated.
In addition, a youth activist who has worked closely with Amushelelo juxtaposed his activism or populism.
“The question is whether his activism is driven by his agenda to help people, or to be popular in order to use them for his business dealings.
“Does he finish any of his projects? Like, what happened to the [various] security guards’ strikes? What happened to the Shoprite workers after he left? I think to do justice, follow up at every place he visited, and you will probably learn that at a majority of those places, the employees were left in a worse condition after he left. Some probably lost their jobs. Why doesn’t he finalise and get results, but keeps running to the next place, as if to make another headline?”, the activist, who preferred anonymity, asked rhetorically.
However, the baby, in Amushelelo’s case, cannot be thrown away with the bathwater.
“I won’t lie, there are a few instances where he probably got things better. I would, therefore, advise that you do an assessment of all the places he has visited. I think the agenda is not to genuinely assist, but to popularise himself as a messiah for ulterior motives [business and elections], which can only be confirmed by the above analysis,” he assessed.
Another person familiar with Amushelelo’s modus operandi said: “As young people, we don’t have to be envious of what he is doing for the masses. Our ultimate goal is improving and restoring the dignity of our people. This does not mean we must follow everything he does blindly.”
Five things about Amushelelo
• Born 22 January 1991 in Oshikoto region’s Oniipa village; raised by both his mother and father, although the two never married
• Nicknamed “Stokkie/Lollipop”
• Launches a political party, People Organised Working for Economic Reality (Power) in 2019. The party never contests for elections that year, fails the ECN litmus test and dies a slow, natural death
• Faces over 300 charges, among others fraud, alternatively theft by false pretence, conducting banking business without authorisation, tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, racketeering and operating a Ponzi scheme
• Arrested in 2022 for carrying out an illegal protest after the Namibia Revenue Agency announces the demolition of counterfeit goods worth over N$5 million.