Oshikuku
Members of Swapo Party in Oshikuku are outraged after the regional coordinator of the DTA in Omusati Region, Imms Shikongo, apparently added the names of ruling party members to the list of DTA candidates for the coming local authority election.
Swapo says its people were listed as DTA candidates in the local authority elections without seeking their consent. Shikongo apparently put some youth on the list of people contesting for local authority seats in Oshikuku, without even consulting them.
One of the unlikely candidates is Elise Negonya, a 19-year-old who was at Ashipala Secondary school at the time the DTA sent its list of candidates to Electoral Commission of Namibia’s offices. Negonya said she was not consulted and is still in possession of her Swapo membership card: “I was at school preparing for my final examination, because I am in Grade 12 this year. I finished my examination on 21 October and I was surprised that my name is on the list of local authority councillors. I was shocked.”
Negonya showed her Swapo membership card, issued in July last year – shortly after she turned 18.
The Omusati Regional mobiliser for Swapo, Leevi Katoma, symphasised with Negonya, but said because the list of candidates has already been printed there is nothing much the party can do. He urged party members to ignore the list provided by DTA.
Katoma made the remark during a Swapo rally at Oshikuku in the Omusati Region on Saturday. He urged party members to work together to win all the available local and regional council seats in the region.
Approached for comment, Imms Shikongo said he cannot remember the name on the list since he was at church when contacted for comment. “I cannot remember that name in our seven poster list, but if she is there she is welcome to approach me to clear the issue out,” he said.
Shikongo further alluded to the fact that the posts were advertised and people who were shortlisted were given forms to fill in.
“When we register our names, Swapo members had an issue with our candidates. They demanded that our list of names be read more than ten times. Maybe they are the ones that harassed these people to withdraw,” Shikongo claimed.
Contacted for comment Hidipo Hamata, the regional coordinator of the DTA in Ohangwena, denied the allegations, saying he simply fails to understand the allegations because the person is already on the list.
“If it’s true, as she is claiming not to have been approached, then I guess there are two of them with the same identities and voter registration numbers. It is not possible for a leader to guess someone’s identity, nor possible to register someone without permission,” Hamata said.