WINDHOEK – Confusion is reigning supreme at the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) whose acting president Connie Pandeni allegedly made a U-turn on her recent official notification that she will only be involved in the federation’s activities until congress next month, after which she will quit.
New Era is in possession of a letter dated March 17, in which Pandeni notified relevant structures of NUNW that she would retire from active unionism, but yesterday she denied having authored the said letter.
“Go and ask that person who gave you those letters – maybe he or she will be in a better position to explain them to you, but as far as I am concerned I am still the acting president of the NUNW until the next congress decides otherwise,” said Pandeni when contacted for comment yesterday.
“Those are fake letters, those who wrote that letter got their own vendettas,” she added.
Pandeni insisted that she is going to stand for election as the president of the country’s biggest trade union federation.
NUNW is set to hold is 6th ordinary congress by the end of April to elect a new president, deputy president, secretary general and the deputy secretary general who will serve for the next five years.
The federation is also scheduled to have a meeting this coming Saturday to map out the route ahead of the congress.
Pandeni’s purported letter reads: “I hereby informing you all comrades that I have dicided (sic) to play my leadership roles within the trade unions and federation in particular only up to the upcoming congress, therefore I will not be standing neither available to stand for any national office bearer position during the upcoming congress.”
“I will however remain a member of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) as an ordinary member till further notice,” added the letter.
Pandeni has been the acting president of the federation since 2012. She romped to the helm of the federation after the suspension of its then president Elias Manga.
Manga and the then outspoken secretary general Evilastus Kaaronda were suspended by the federation in 2012. Both were never officially charged by NUNW.
Alfred Angula was brought in to replace suspended Kaaronda in an acting role, however Angula was himself later suspended for allegedly defrauding the Namibian Farmworkers Union (Nafwu) of funds exceeding N$1.2 million during his tenure as Nafwu secretary general.
Job Muniaro was brought in to replace suspended Angula as acting NUNW secretary general.