The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) yesterday said they are not worried by the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) under academic Mutjinde Katjiua’s close ties with the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) on the matter of genocide.
Katjiua recently confirmed to New Era that his traditional authority has chosen LPM ahead of Nudo to pursue the issue of genocide. This is despite Nudo, over the years, having pursued the matter on behalf of the OTA.
There are also claims that Katjiua urged his followers to support the LPM, however, Katjiua shot down the allegations, saying that his OTA was only collaborating with the LPM on the genocide matter.
“The allegation that I have been urging my subjects to lend their support to LPM is baseless. Equally so are the persistent allegations that I will move the Ovaherero political allegiance to the IPC and that I have been offered the position of vice president of the IPC. Obviously, some political groupings are in a panic mode for reasons known to themselves,” Katjiua told New Era recently.
At a media briefing yesterday, Nudo president Utjiua Muinjangue said the party is unbothered by the Katjiua-led OTA move, which many believe will rob Nudo of its support base, adding that it was their democratic right.
“We do not mingle in others’ affairs – our focus is Nudo – if whoever they choose is who they want, let it be their democratic right,” Muinjangue said yesterday when asked for comment on the development.
She added that the party leadership took cognizance of its formation through the Ovaherero Chief Council, and hence the party leadership is aware of the implication of the OTA chieftainship contestation towards the party membership base.
“The NEC meeting resolved that the party leadership must devise strategies to engage its disgruntled members in efforts to rescue and protect the party to restore unity within the party.
“We are planning to undertake visitations to the regions to meet our members and esteemed traditional leaders,” she said.
She also re-affirmed the party’s stance on the matter of genocide, saying that the party as the author of the 2006 motion in parliament will remain at the forefront of advocating for unprejudiced reparation and restorative
justice.
“As a party, we have already expressed our stance on the joint declaration and continue to reject the current agreement which was discussed without the involvement of the two communities that were targeted by the extermination order, the Nama and Ovaherero communities,” she said.
The Ovaherero community have since its formation been the backbone and spine of the 57-year-old party. In 2006, late Nudo president and OTA paramount chief Kuaima Riruako tabled a genocide motion, which was unanimously adopted by parliament. Ever since then, the party has been driving the genocide agenda in parliament.
Meanwhile, addressing the media on the outcome of the party’s fourth national executive committee held on Friday, Muinjangue said the party resolved to welcome back the former suspended Nudo members.
The party in 2020 expelled its then regional councillor for the Okakarara constituency, Vetaruhe Kandorozu, its then constituency coordinator, Ambros Mundjindjiri as well as branch coordinator Jackson Ngairo.
Muinjangue yesterday said the trio will be welcomed back to the party as ordinary members and will not be reinstated to the positions they previously occupied. She said the decision was taken as a way of bringing unity and harmony in the party.