WINDHOEK- A Swapo member requested to remove herself from the party’s parliamentary list could take the legal route to compel the ruling party to have mercy on her and let her be sworn-in.
Marina Kandumbu was requested by the party to make herself unavailable or be forced to do so after her critics in the party revealed she received a fine in court after being convicted for corruption.
Kandumbu was on Swapo’s parliamentary list but was not sworn into parliament last Friday because Swapo is yet to decide her fate.
Although Kandumbu was silent on the matter, Swapo coordinator for Kavango West, David Hamutenya told New Era that Kandumbu might consider taking Swapo to court if it does not revoke the decision to axe her from its parliamentary list.
“She is more than eligible to go to parliament as per the requirements of the constitution, which is the supreme law of this country.
“There are some people sitting in parliament who were also convicted yet they have been allowed to serve the nation, why should Kandumbu be treated differently?” said the sympathetic regional coordinator.
“If the leadership really has a case against Kandumbu, why did they ask her to remove herself from the list instead of doing it themselves?
“But we will wait and see what our leaders decide. We hope the leadership will make the right decision and allow her to serve the nation,” said Hamutenya.
On November 11, 2014, Kandumbu was found guilty on 55 counts of corruption charges by Magistrate Helen Olayia in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court and fined Kandumbu N$100 000 or five years imprisonment of which N$90 000 or four years have been suspended on condition that she repays N$87 887 of the subsidy she received in 31 instalments of N$3 000 from November 27, 2014, according to court documents. The charges stem from Kandumbu sub-letting a government house she was living in.
Swapo decided to prevent her from going to parliament despite the Namibian Constitution clearly stating, “No persons may become members of the National Assembly if they: (a) have at any time after independence been convicted of any offence in Namibia, or outside Namibia, and for which they have been sentenced to death or to imprisonment of more than 12 months without the option of a fine, unless they have received a free pardon or unless such imprisonment has expired at least 10 years before the date of their election.”
In Kandumbu’s case she got the option of a fine. Meanwhile, the former leader of the Rally for Development and Progress (RDP), Hidipo Hamutenya still maintains he was muscled out of the RDP and forced into early retirement against is will.
Last week he informed the National Assembly that he is still the de-facto leader of the RDP and will therefore assume his seat in parliament.
The RDP leadership, however, countered that move and went ahead with its earlier plans of sending Steve Bezuidenhoudt, Agnes Limbo and Mike Kavekotora to parliament.
RDP maintains its position that he (Hamutenya) voluntarily retired and the process to find his replacement is underway.
Hamutenya, on the other hand, is apparently refusing to let the matter subside and could also drag his party to court, a source close to him revealed.
New Era was unable to get hold of Hamutenya yesterday as his phone went unanswered.