It appears there will not be any rest in the frenzy currently gripping the Landless People’s Movement after the party yesterday withdrew Charlcyta Cooper from the Keetmanshoop local authority with immediate effect.
Cooper became the fourth councillor to be recalled by the party, following the recalls earlier this year of Sydney Skakana, Willie Kisting and Maree Smit from the same local authority.
Earlier this month, party leader Bernadus Swartbooi accused Cooper of betrayal, labelling her “careless and intellectually fatigued” while Skakana, Kisting and Smit were accused of having defied party directives not to support a decision to disconnect the water supply of residents.
“Your endorsement is herewith revoked, and you will as of today cease to be a councillor representing the LPM political party and shall have no authority, jurisdiction or power of any sort to act on behalf of the party in council affairs,” LPM operative secretary Dawid Eigub said in a letter to Cooper.
She acknowledged receiving the letter yesterday, but declined to react, stating that she would only respond to the letter on Monday as she was travelling to attend a funeral.
Swartbooi last week wrote to Cooper, challenging her to provide a justification as to why she ought to continue serving as a councillor for the municipality of Keetmanshoop and as a
party member.
He said this after Cooper allegedly shared critical information with outsiders, which, according to Swartbooi, compromises the work of the party. “Your journey has been watched, and I express my sincere concern about your inability to lead,” he said in the letter to Cooper, seen by New Era, dated 7 July.
“Your actions, allegations set aside, have not met the standard of what a deputy mayor should maintain, and you appear to find it feasible to approach the political mandate with a particular sense of carelessness and intellectual fatigue,” Swartbooi added.
Responding to the allegations, Cooper said “I have taken note of the content of the letter on allegations labelled against me as a member of the LPM, and as an elected local authority councillor of the municipality of Keetmanshoop.
“I became a member of LPM in 2017 due to my political interest, and that the party addresses issues concerning the well-being of the //Kharas region and Namibian people at large. Therefore, I regard myself as a founding and bona fide member of the party and have no intention to leave, but to work for the betterment of our party as per the vision and mission,” Cooper said in response to Swartbooi. She added that the electorate of Keetmanshoop had elected her to serve them as a local authority councillor in the municipality in 2020 to provide quality services, and to bring development to the town.
“I hereby request you (Swartbooi) to furnish proof of critical information that I have shared with other functionaries that is deemed to have compromised my loyalty and membership to the party,” Cooper stated.