Swapo to amend its constitution next month

WINDHOEK - The ruling party Swapo is expected to amend its constitution at the 6th extraordinary congress scheduled for next month, party Secretary for Information and Mobilisation Hilma Nicanor revealed yesterday.

Nicanor, who is also the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs, said the 2017 Swapo congress resolved to convene an extraordinary congress of the party in October, to consider proposed amendments to the Swapo constitution and its code of conduct.

“Swapo matters are pivotal to the aspects that are critical to the advancement of our nation and our party, the leadership and its president stays engaged (sic),” she said. Nicanor made this announcement at a media briefing called to respond to ‘unwarranted’ allegations towards party president Dr Hage Geingob, allegedly by Professor Joseph Diescho.

Nicanor did not reveal what Diescho’s attack on Geingob was about or where and when it took place.
Although the media invitation to yesterday’s press conference stated that the briefing was being convened to address “the unwarranted allegations towards Cde. Dr Hage G. Geingob, president of Swapo Party by Joseph Diescho…” Nicanor yesterday said President Geingob and the entire leadership “see no value neither does it deem it fit to discuss the person of Diescho”.

“We challenge Diescho if he believes in facts, to reveal the names of what the party calls his so-called informants,” Nicanor said, seemingly in reference to recent allegations that Diescho was unfavourably discussed at a recent Swapo central committee meeting at Rundu.

“We advise Diescho to engage himself with productive matters instead of wasting his valuable time, self-claimed and proclaimed by some as an intellect,” she said.

The media briefing was attended by, amongst others, higher education minister Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi, Swapo Party Elders Council (SPEC) Secretary Mukwaita Shanyengana and Swapo Khomas Regional Coordinator Elliot Mbako.
 “It shall be of free advice that His Excellency Hage Geingob is not a type of a person that deserves to be labelled as tribal,” she said.

“We wish to state categorically clear the aims and objectives of Swapo [are] to combat retrogressive tendencies such as tribalism, nepotism and regionalism and so on and forth,” she added.

In fact, Nicanor says Geingob is on inerasable record that Namibians should eliminate all sort of ‘isms’ in our society.
“Placing isms on our President is simply an insult on progressive and peace-loving Namibians that cannot be left unchallenged,” Nicanor said.

“We vehemently condemn the allegations towards [Dr Geingob] that are doing rounds on various media platforms,” she added.

Furthermore, Nicanor said the leadership and the rank and files of the Swapo party learned with dismay the continuous heinous acts targeting mostly women and children in society.

She said not so long ago, Namibians learned of the ill-fated incident of a 26-year-old Beverly Kurangera, who was brutally stabbed in Karibib in August.

Nicanor says just last week, the murder and mutilated body of Cheryl Ujaha, a 9-year-old girl was found in Windhoek.
“As the nation continues to mourn the loss of our beloved fellow young and precious life, we in the same vein remember and pay homage to all Namibians who fell victims of such barbaric acts,” she said.

She called on the law enforcement agencies to ensure that justice prevails and the perpetrators are brought to book.