Swakopmund
Swapo’s coordinator for the DRC branch in Swakopmund, Ambrosius Marsh, is yet to give up his position in the party despite a decision taken last month that he must voluntarily do so due to complications with his citizenship.
This, after it came to light that Marsh is not yet a Namibian citizen and, as such, cannot be elected into party structures.
The decision was taken on August 14 by the regional executive committee (REC) and party leaders assigned to the region, after it came to light that Marsh was elected as branch coordinator for DRC despite not being in the possession of the required Namibian identity documents.
The REC also resolved that Marsh should not apply for any party documents for the next three years.
Marsh is a community leader in Swakopmund’s DRC informal settlement and became Swapo branch coordinator for the DRC in 2013.
Some of the party members are now accusing those in authority of not properly vetting Marsh .
Marsh applied for Namibian citizenship in 2011, which was provisionally approved by the home affairs ministry on condition he gets a letter from the South African government accepting his renunciation of his South African citizenship.
Once this is done he will receive a Namibian citizenship certificate.
However, the letter does not qualify a person to be a Namibian citizen, nor give them a right to vote.
In fact last month it came to light that Marsh registered for a Namibian voter’s card with a non-Namibian ID and took part in the election last year.
Some party members are now said to be jittery about the fact that Marsh could stand for the upcoming regional elections.
“DRC is our biggest branch in the whole Erongo and imagine what power we will be giving to Marsh if he does not resign,” a Swapo official said.
Swapo has more than 15 000 members in the DRC.
A source in the party over the weekend also said that they were worried about the Marsh situation as invitation letters for the recommendation of branch candidates would be sent out this week to various branches in the region..
The source said that every branch needs to submit their nominations before the end of this month and if Marsh does not resign he will definitely be one of the frontrunners for the regional elections.
When contacted for comment yesterday afternoon Swapo’s Erongo regional coordinator Phillipus Heita said that he did “not wish to comment on the issue now”.
“Who told you all these things? No, really people have to learn who is the spokesperson of the party. To be honest, I will not respond. I will call the media and inform you properly when the time is right,” Heita said yesterday afternoon.
Numerous attempts to trace Marsh for comment proved futile.