The Landless People’s Movement has come out swinging against claims that it was formed on a tribalistic premise to represent the wishes and aspirations of the Nama people.
They denied the veracity of such claims after the party’s deputy leader was quoted as such in a local weekly paper’s Friday edition.
The latest in a series of run-ins between deputy leader Henny Seibeb and his supremo, party leader Bernadus Swartbooi, has seen the LPM distancing itself from claims, which Seibeb, according to the party, vehemently denies.
“The LPM is originally a tribal party for the Namas. I have tried to bring Utaara [Mootu] and others to camouflage it as a universal party. It worked well until people started asking why a Damara is in the party structure,” Seibeb was quoted as saying.
LPM national spokesperson Lifazala Simataa threw Seibeb’s purported assertions out of the window.
“We, as the Landless People Movement, are adamant that such a statement is not merely blatantly false, but that it is slander. The LPM would like to express once again that it [LPM] is not a Nama party, nor was it established to be such a party,” Simataa said.
He continued: “The Landless People’s Movement is adamant that such claims hold no foundation, and implores the Namibian community and its members to not buy into this rhetoric. From the onset, the party has actively displayed diversity on all fronts. From the top six positions, being a diverse collection of leaders, with two out of six being people of the Nama ethnicity.”
This, Simataa said, is further evidenced by the fact that key positions in the orange movement such as that of spokesperson, human rights desk, woman’s command element, youth command element and council of the wise, are not held by individuals of Nama ethnicity.
“Our councillors across the board have different ethnicities. Even in the case of a by-election in the south, the LPM’s candidate was a white man, who successfully won the by-election. To express the party as a tribal project is to spit on the hard work the party has placed into creating a diverse and welcoming ecosystem. It insults the idea of creating a party for all Namibians, and that is not a comment that can be left unaddressed,” he said in a wordy statement yesterday.
The party’s leadership has immediately engaged Seibeb about the remarks.
“Seibeb was contacted, and he expressed that the comments are untrue, and that journalist Uaueza Kanguatjivi was unethical in her reporting, and inserting a comment that he did not make. He expresses not receiving questions, and not having communicated with the journalist. The spokesperson advised Seibeb to publicly express these allegations against the journalist, and to actively denounce the untrue statement. The party and the general public at large await Seibeb’s pronunciation on the matter,” Simataa stated.
When contacted yesterday, the journalist did not respond.
Seibeb, too, was unreachable on his mobile phone, while Swartbooi referred all querries to Simataa.
Swartbooi and Seibeb, two long-time friends from their university and ruling party days, are reportedly not on talking terms. Their relationship, according to party insiders, is at an all-time low, a situation which has placed the party in a difficult state ahead of the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“The party first and foremost denies the claims and accusations expressed in the newspaper. Secondly, the party awaits Seibeb to publicly address the comment. Lastly, the party will determine the appropriate approach to the matter, depending on the sequence of events that follow,” Simataa stated.
- emumbuu@nepc.com.na