By Mathias Haufiku
WINDHOEK – The Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) says it has already found replacements for two of its commissars who quit four days ago.
NEFF said on Monday that Engelhardt Ngatjikare has replaced Olsen Kahiriri, who was commissar for communications, while Shikongo Tiofelus replaced Werner January, who served as commissar for transport and social development.
Kahiriri and January resigned from the party last Thursday.
The party’s second-in-command and national co-ordinator, Kalimbo Iipumbu, said it did not take long to replace the two because the party had anticipated their departure. “We already knew they were planning to resign after failing to make it to parliament. Those two do not understand the dynamics of politics, all they wanted is money,” said Iipumbu.
In their resignation letter, Kahiriri and January said they would not be able to do their work under the conditions prevailing in the party.
“It is our strong conviction that we cannot rescue our people from [the] economic slavery they find themselves in or attempt to do so under the current circumstances,” said the two.
Iipumbu, however, accused Kahiriri and January of being political rookies, who entered politics to fill their stomachs.
“Even in Swapo, there are some of the top members who do not know how much the party has in its bank account, but these two claim one of the reasons they resigned is because they have no access to party funds,” he said.
NEFF only entered the country’s political landscape a few weeks before the general elections after receiving its certificate of registration as a political party from the Electoral Commission of Namibia in October.
During last year’s National Assembly election, NEFF was one of the six parties that failed to obtain a seat while its leader Epafras Mukwiilongo received the least votes of all nine candidates in the Presidential election.
NEFF received only 3 259 votes out of the 893 643 votes cast in the National Assembly election, while Mukwiilongo only got 2 514 votes out of the 890 738 votes in the Presidential election.