By Emma Kakololo
New Era recently interviewed Professor Mburumba Kerina. Kerina was the first chairman of Swapo Party before the late David Meroro.
He talked at length about the party’s decision to re-activate the position of chairman as well as the new man who has been tipped to take over this position, the current president of the party Dr Sam Nujoma.
Nujoma, who has been Swapo Party President for 47 years, recently announced that he was not going to stand for party presidency at the coming Swapo Party congress in November, a move that Nujoma hopes would pave the way for the party’s vice-president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, the Head of State since 2005, to take over as party leader .
Kerina and Nujoma have known each other since the formation of Swapo. The two were in fact the party’s two main lieutenants even before April 9, 1960, when the Owamboland People’s Organisation (OPO) became history and the movement transformed itself into Swapo.
New Era: From your own personal knowledge of Nujoma and experience, having been associated with him in the past, what do you think about Nujoma taking up the position of National Chairman of the Party?
Kerina: Sam is not exactly retiring from politics, but becoming the National Chairman of Swapo in order to give way to President Pohamba to continue with his leadership of the Party and the Government.
Sam has been a victim of those politicians who go around flattering him thinking that he wants to know only those things that are good about him.
I was never like that when I was associated with Sam. I have always taken a position when seeing things are not going in the right direction, to caution him and advise him with respect that the moves we were intending to take would probably have far-reaching repercussions against us.
And maybe at times, Sam thought that I did not trust him; because he was exposed to these politicians’ gossips about fellow members so that they can be awarded certain positions and so forth in the party.
And this probably led to our separation eventually. Not that I was disgusted with the party because I was a co-founder of the OPC (Owamboland People’s Congress) that became OPO (Owamboland People’s Organisation) and eventually transformed into Swapo.
Sam must retire so that his contribution will always be remembered by the Namibian nation. Sam has done a good job for this country, he has left us monuments in a period of 17 years that could have taken us a long time to build in this country because unlike the former British colonies and French colonies and Spanish colonies, who had their grandfathers, their sugar daddies to foot their bills and help them with the development after independence, South Africa left us just abruptly as orphans on the streets.
But that did not even discourage Nujoma from holding the nation together in the period of time that was very difficult, coming out of the war and so on.
He stood by with us, and today we have universities, we have an independent government, we have one of the most beautiful constitutions on the African continent and I feel that with that record of achievements Nujoma has nothing to lose by retiring.
In fact it would enhance his image and reputation among fellow leaders who have retired from politics like Mandela, joined by Chisano today and many others.
I don’t think Nujoma’s retirement should be regarded as a failure. I think he must be big enough to accept it in order for his reputation to be glorified by the Namibian nation and the world.
He must allow President Pohamba to assume the ranks of Government and leadership as well as the ranks of leadership of Swapo in order to continue into the future, just as Sam did in the past.
President Pohamba, as I know him together with Sam, has been the most loyal disciple of Sam and they have gone together through thick and thin without Pohamba betraying Sam. And I think it will be an honour on the part of Sam to bequeath to Pohamba the ranks of the leadership of the party as well as the government, so that Namibian people can enjoy this democracy that we have created out of our blood and lives, and also the benefits of independence.
I was the first Chairman of Swapo before David Meroro and now I think Nujoma will become the third National Chairman of Swapo and he will remain as glue in these difficult times to keep the party and the whole nation together, with his history behind him and his work and contribution for the freedom and independence of our country.
I wish him good luck if he assumes this position as he assumes the position of national chairman of the party and I wish president Pohamba many blessings from God, to keep him healthy so that he can lead our country in the peace and stability that we have enjoyed for the past 17 years under President Nujoma’s leadership.
New Era: What does this position of National Chairman entail? I think a lot of people at the moment are confused, believing that this position is going to be tailored only to fit Nujoma?
Kerina: Since Swapo’s inception when it started as the Owamboland People’s Congress, we created the position of chairmanship, which was occupied by Reverend Theophilus Hingashikuka Hamutumbangela. And then when we transformed the party into OPO, I was made the chairman.
In fact, it was agreed between Sam and myself. I suggested to Sam that he must be the president of the party officially and I will continue with chairmanship of the party because I was working at the United Nations lobbying and promoting our cause. And when OPO also became Swapo, I continued to be chairman.
It is only after I left Swapo that late David Meroro became the chairman of the party.
The chairman of the party Swapo is not a titular or a public relations position. It is a very very difficult position because basically it is that position that holds the party together. It is like the president and the prime minister. Much of the work is done by the prime minister.
New Era: Some people view this position as a way to keep Nujoma around to control the party as well. What is your opinion?
Kerina: I think we should not harbour those thoughts. Because of his age, he would remain a symbol of national unity under that position because we are just an infant country – 17 years old – and we would still have many problems – intertribal, international – to resolve.
And I think that as a man who is actually the Namibian embodiment of the Namibian liberation struggle up to independence, he will continue to be a valuable commodity as far as the party and unity are concerned
The people who harbour those ideas have legitimate reasons because of the crisis that the party has gone through the year and I don’t think that should distract our people from our commitment to the national integrity of this country.
We must be like the Chinese who after independence President Sun Yat-sen said, ‘Let the young draw their inspiration and their experience from the old guard.’
You will find that combination working perfectly well for China and that attitude that has bridged the generation gap between the old and new to make China a great nation in the world today.
Why should young people be afraid of the old guard who have given them the future that they might not have even been able to enjoy in the their lifetime? Let’s not be confused by the generation gap and the negative elements that want to exploit that gap.
New Era: What kind of a person is Nujoma, what is his personality, maybe you can describe this?
Kerina: Nujoma is a very complex person. A very complex person in the sense that when you talk to him, sometimes you will think that he is with you, but at the same time, he is taking what you are saying to him and comparing it to many instances in his life of things that are similar to what you are saying to him, to find the end result and to find as to whether he is going to be right or wrong.
He does not talk too much. Maybe he has changed now since be became president of the country to talk too much. But I don’t know him as a person who talks too much.
And that is also the attitude that he displays when he talks to elements that are opposed to him.
He just keeps quiet that’s all, and then does his thing. I knew for instance the fear of those that are afraid of his new agenda, when he opted for the national chairmanship of the party. That is just one of the guerilla war tactics of Sam, to lay low until maybe when the future Congress or Politburo sits for him again to come up with a new surprise.
But the years that he is left with now, I think these are the years that Sam needs to put his own house in order (Party). So far, he has helped other people to put their lives and houses together. But I think this time, he wants to remain the Chairman of the Party.
New Era: Do you think he is a man of his word?
Dr Kerina: That is very difficult to tell. I have never seen him going against his word. But so are all of us, we are not angels and Sam is not an angel. He makes mistakes and sometimes very serious mistakes. Just like all of us.
New Era: Do you see the Party growing with him as Chairman or decomposing?
Kerina: I think that is also his fear, that if he totally vacates his positions in government and the party, the party will begin to disintegrate. I don’t know whether that would be the case or not. It depends on the chemistry that will result from his departure into remaining the chairman of the party.
New Era: What actually happened to this chairmanships position? Why did it become dormant?
Kerina: The chairmanship position, I think, was dwarfed by Sam as president. And it is a position of power, the presidency.
New Era: Do you think Pohamba is the right person to take over the presidency? Of course you mentioned already that he is loyal?
Kerina: Pohamba is not only the right person. So far, Pohamba has demonstrated that at this moment in our history, he is the right person.
And probably to say the truth, if Sam remains the chairman of the party, he would be in an advisory capacity to Pohamba, because of Sam’s experience in running the country and the party before independence and after independence.
New Era: This has nothing to do with autocracy?
Kerina: This has nothing to do with autocracy; I think they will work together as a team. I’m sure also that taking into account what has happened during the past two years, members of the party Swapo have reasons to be very reserved in many positions that they take, because of the extraordinary power that the presidency office has, the power that he has.
Because the incumbent president has tremendous power to his disposal and can use that power as much as he would like, for good or for worse.
But in this case, I think if Sam can prove to Pohamba that he will also remain loyal, as Pohamba has been to him, and Pohamba can always seek his advice anytime that he needs, I think that team would go well.
Sam deals with situations with an iron fist. Pohamba has shown his personal style of leadership as one who deals with problems with velvet gloves.
But I think for Pohamba to manage those elements (tribalism and quarrels) effectively, he needs in his presidency also to draw on people from the opposition party, especially professional ones.
– As a matter of fact: In our article on Tuesday, we erroneously stated that Kerina left Swapo for the South West African National Union (Swanu). In fact, he was never associated with Swanu. After leaving Swapo, he took up the position of Associate Professor at the City University of New York for about 10 years and eventually joined the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), a party that he says was crucial for the sake of the country’s democracy.
“The Governing party needs an opposition party such as the DTA that has been associated with parliament for the past 17 years in an effort to strengthen our democracy. The DTA has the credibility and the history, and has proven that it is a responsible opposition and a partner in the building and strengthening of democracy, security and stability in our country” – Kerina