The Office of the Founding President is the competent body to respond officially to Mr John Savva and his circulated views on social media regarding the luncheon held at Atlantic Hotel in Walvis Bay [on Sunday].
The luncheon was at the initiation of Mr Savva. What follows hereunder are therefore my views as someone who accompanied Founding President Sam Nujoma to the said function as above. Let me hasten to say I have read what is purportedly a missive of Mr Savva on social media. It is surprising to say the least. There is nothing wrong to take pictures of the Founding President unless you are suggesting that he was your captive and only you must decide who takes pictures or not.
To begin with, on Sunday morning, the Top 4 candidates of Team SWAPO paid a courtesy call on Founding President Nujoma in Walvis Bay. Thereafter, the Founding President informed us (Cde Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun and I) that he was invited for lunch by Mr John Savva and we should join him.
We arrived at Atlantic Hotel and were met by Mr Savva and his wife as well as one of the Founding President’s friends, Mr Jose Luis Bastos and his wife. The discussion at the lunch table primarily focused on the history of Walvis Bay and how it was before independence. Mr Savva informed us how old the hotel was to which Founding President also concurred that the present-day Atlantic Hotel was built on the older structure which used to exist those years.
Founding President informed us how he arrived in Walvis Bay in the mid-1940s when he was only 16. Mrs Bastos also recalled the discriminatory laws of Apartheid South Africa which dictated that people were given services on the basis of their skin colour (Swartes en Blankes). Founding President continued to relate the night before Walvis Bay was returned to a free and independent Namibia. He joked that the shooting of the 21 Gun Salute that day made some citizens shiver, thinking perhaps it was a return to war.
From this point on in the discussion, Founding President urged on the need to focus on business that empowers all the people especially the young people and women. He asked Mr Savva to exchange phone numbers with Cde Namundjebo with a view to expand business throughout the country in order to benefit all Namibians.
Also, the Founding President informed Mr Savva that there was a very important SWAPO rally taking place in Walvis Bay and asked whether he (Mr Savva) was going to attend. Mr Savva responded that he had not heard of it officially and was busy with other programs, thus he could not attend.
I am therefore surprised to see that Mr Savva chose to go public on activities of Founding President outside the realm of the above spirit and even implying that he (Founding President) ‘was after food or his entourage were after food’. It is at that moment when one thinks of the saying “wisdom comes with age”, but what wisdom is this one? Quite frankly, I don’t think Founding President would bother whether Mr Savva chooses to unconditionally love or support Team Harambee, he couldn’t care less, after all even the Jack Huangs, Ernest Andjovis or Enoch Kamushindas of this world are best of friends of Team Harambee. Therefore, my senior, most definitely good luck in that enterprise but do not stretch the truth.
Finally, I can understand there must be quite a stir in your Team Harambee as a result of Team SWAPO Party paying a courtesy call on the Founding President. Who knows perhaps the luncheon itself was a ploy on your side to prevent Founding President from exchanging views albeit briefly with seasoned SWAPO leaders like Nahas Angula, Jerry Ekandjo, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Helmut Angula, Armas Amukwiyu, Petrina Haingura and Martha Namundjembo-Tilahun. These are and must be your leaders too not only the Team Harambee slate. Just like I want to believe that Team Harambee leaders also subordinate themselves to SWAPO Party values and ethos.
*This piece has been shortened due to space constraints.