Firebrand politician Henny Seibeb yesterday relinquished his Landless People’s Movement (LPM) and National Assembly memberships.
He was the LPM’s second-in-command at the time of the divorce.
In the twin move, former LPM lawmaker and chief administrator Edson Isaaks also walked out of both Parliament and the LPM.
The duo confirmed their resignations to New Era late yesterday.
The former MPs, who are both founders of the party, released statements confirming their departures.
Coincidentally, the LPM yesterday announced the appointment of youthful politician Utaara Mootu as the party’s new Chief Whip, following the ejection of Seibeb.
“Mootu is fit for the responsibilities this position thrusts upon her, and we believe in her ability to soar to new heights. The youth are not leaders of tomorrow, but are the leaders of today. Honourable Seibeb will return to being an ordinary Member of Parliament, and remains the deputy leader of the LPM,” party spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa said in a statement.
While Seibeb was tight-lipped about reasons for his decision, Isaacks sang like a canary, saying he had been ostracised for far too long, and it was time to call it a day for his own sanity.
For over two years now, he stated, attempts by him to seek audience with the party’s top brass to discuss his purported sins have fallen on deaf ears.
“I have been accused of a number of things that didn’t happen. There was a commission which was sent out to investigate, and that commission never brought charges or found evidence to that effect. So, I can’t be in an organisation which doesn’t have principles of fairness, and administrative justice issues are not addressed. So, I can’t be in that organisation,” he stressed.
Isaaks, a respected former teacher, said his resignation has been a long time coming, and that he has not attended any party events or structure meetings for the last two-and-a-half years.
On what the future holds for him, at least politically, he said all he needs is time and space to figure out his path.
In 2022, he resigned as the party’s operative secretary.
It is also rumoured that he and others attempted to replace the party’s leadership, as well as remove the non-Nama-speaking members from parliament.
The party has for the longest time been trying to shake off the tribal tag.
Their departures come at a time when the relationship between the two former LPM top leaders, Bernadus Swartbooi and Seibeb, had reached an all-time low.
The two do not see eye-to-eye, it has been reported, reports which neither of them had refuted.
The two at the time aired each other’s dirty laundry on social media.
Seibeb will convene a press conference today to lift the veil around his departure and future, he said.
He, however, said he was not informed about his removal from the Chief Whip portfolio.
However, Simataa said the decision of Mootu’s appointment was made in a top six meeting, which Seibeb was aware of and invited to, but declined to attend.
Alas, Simataa said, the party was yet to receive those resignations.
“We can’t confirm the authenticity of these letters, as we are waiting for communication to go through proper channels. It seems like the media is the only one informing us,” he observed.
New Era couldn’t get comment from Swartbooi before going to print.
However, in an interview he had with a local daily, he said the party had to “babysit” Seibeb and Isaaks since last year when the relationship between them and the party deteriorated.
In that interview, Swartbooi said the party had to carry a difficult burden for five years, and they could not speak about those issues at the time because they were part of them.
“We had difficulties with these people. They are impossible to work with,” he said.
Tit-for-tat
The once-comrades and long-time friends had seen their relationship sour.
At the helm of the hullabaloo is talks of factions and gossip within the party, which drove the party leaders apart.
Swartbooi and Seibeb founded the LPM in 2017 as a movement, and registered it as a political party advocating for social justice and equality for all on 8 February 2019.
The party won 10 seats in Parliament – four in the National Assembly and six in the National Council.