The frankness with which President Hage Geingob is addressing the ‘Savimbi Syndrome’ within Swapo is admirable and one hopes that the committee set up to conduct a post-mortem on elections at the primaries will unearth the effects of this syndrome in the party.
The admission that “people are unhappy with their councillors” is testimony enough that the rank-and-file have reservations about their elected leaders. One would want to know why people are unhappy with their elected leaders, what the background of those leaders is, how pervasive the problem is in the party and what needs to be done to rectify the situation. It is safe to assume that the findings of the committee will depend entirely on two overriding elements, namely: its composition (members) and its terms of reference.
Interestingly, the president recalled that he once lost by one vote in the politburo and also “lost” out to the late Cde Hendrik Witbooi for the position of vice-president, but did not cry or make disparaging remarks about the Swapo Party, adding that “You may recall that when comrades Jerry Ekandjo and Pendukeni Ithana lost out at the 2012 congress we held hands. They accepted the result and proceeded to fervently support the 2014 election campaign.”
Humility and commitment to Swapo is not the character of fly-by-night Swapo members. Herein lies the main problem Cde President: You and comrades Ekandjo and Ithana are not opportunists, or power-hungry Savimbis – unlike those who infiltrated the party in exile and at home with the sole purpose of self-aggrandizement and to frustrate loyal Swapo members.
Cde President, your “loss” to Cde Witbooi was cunningly engineered to force you out of the party. This is an open secret. Your supporters from that time still bear the brunt of hatred and victimisation from those whose agenda it is to hijack Swapo.
It is, therefore, important that even though the committee is primarily to investigate instances that occurred during the primaries, there is an urgent need to broaden the scope of the committee to interrogate the membership and structures of the party, in view of the rampant infiltration of Swapo by fortune-seekers who are the source of squabbles and the decline of discipline in the party.
Swapo is not just a political party. It is a legacy that should be defended. While the party’s membership is open to all and sundry, regardless of the person’s ideological leanings, we need to be mindful of elements that only joined the party for self-gain and to cause confusion. In addition to the Savimbis, who survived the struggle, the party has been infiltrated at the highest levels, including in government, at regional and municipal level, parastatals and other decision-making structures.
It is not suggested here that non-Swapo members do not deserve to serve at the highest levels of governance in the country. As Namibians, every deserving person has the right to be in Cabinet or hold high-ranking positions in government and other institutions. The problem is when they do so clothed in sheepskin, pretending to be who they are not, and in the process frustrate the programmes of the party.
Their only credentials have been to shout party slogans, wear party colours, sing the party anthem loudest and praise party leaders. These opportunists, whose only preoccupation in joining the party has been to acquire fishing quotas, EPLs (Exclusive Prospecting Licenses), farms, land, positions, mining and other licenses, are the root cause of the indiscipline and challenges faced by the party today.
There is no denying that the liberation struggle has been hijacked by yesteryear’s mercenaries, mafikizolo, fifth columnists, thieves, apartheid apologists and power-hungry individuals, who exemplify everything that has become so rotten about our country.
One day they will be named and shamed for their duplicity. We are aware of our “seniors” who abandoned the struggle for Europe and only came back when they were promised positions. Yes, we are aware of our “seniors” who forbade the wearing of combat fatigues or Swapo T-shirts with military images in their houses in Lusaka and Luanda, all in the name of religion!
And behold, we are aware of all the honourable former Koevoet, Etango, Ezuva, Ejuva intelligence officers and operatives, who are now occupying positions at Cabinet, politburo and central committee levels, including that one, yes that influential one who once vowed in 1982 never to talk to his own brother, simply because the brother was a Swapo member studying at UNIN at the time.
We are also aware that their mission is very clear: frustrate Swapo at every opportune moment and sideline all “returnees”. These are some of the people who preside over the affairs of the party and government. Because of them, our country has endured 25 years of rampant corruption. This might sound trivial to others, but to those who bore the brunt of the struggle for liberation – both inside and outside the country – tolerating and elevating these opportunists to the highest echelons of governance in the party and government is the highest form of treachery and betrayal of the spirit of the heroes and heroines of our Revolution.
Given the painful way we achieved Independence, it is shameful to sit on the fence, while the Savimbis cause havoc in the party. While respecting the famous idiom that says, “Send a thief to catch a thief”, it is to be hoped that the committee will be composed of loyal Swapo members – not those under camouflage of other agendas.
It would be foolhardy to expect thieves to investigate themselves. Their findings will obviously cover-up the real situation on the ground. The challenge is: who will sit on that committee and who will be investigated? This challenge is compounded by the fact that when dealing with two-faced opportunists, one has to be very careful which face you slap first.
In view of the aforegoing, it is important that the party should realise one thing: never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer give a damn. The party will not be destroyed by these mafikizolo, but by those who watch helplessly and do nothing to defend the Swapo legacy.
* Dr Charles Mubita holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California.