Windhoek
As inner-party strife continues to escalate within the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) the ruling party on Monday made it clear that the leadership will not meddle in the league’s internal affairs.
At a press conference held over the weekend, SPYL’s secretary for labour, Paulus Mbangu, announced that the national executive committee (NEC) would soon seek an urgent meeting with the party’s top three to discuss the expulsion of SPYL secretary Dr Elijah Ngurare.
Ngurare was reportedly kicked out because of his close links with expelled SPYL members and land activists Job Amupanda, George Kambala and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma from the party.
SPYL NEC members on Sunday announced that they had suspended Nekundi with immediate effect in what was seen as a tit-for-tat response to the expulsion of the four men.
Nekundi, however, maintains that SPYL’s NEC has no mandate to suspend him.
Swapo secretary general Nangolo Mbumba said the youth league must sort out its own issues.
“The youth league has its own constitution, they’d better follow it strictly, instead of depending on personality issues. They are a self-governing structure,” he said during a telephonic interview with New Era.
Critics asked why Mbumba was distancing himself from SPYL’s affairs this time around by saying it [SPYL] is a self-governing structure, yet he was part of the politburo that resolved to expel Ngurare without consulting SPYL over the weekend.
Nekundi held a press conference at Swapo headquarters on Monday, where he stressed that he is the rightful acting secretary of the league and that his “so-called suspension” holds no water.
Only a few SPYL central committee members were present at Monday’s press conference. With the exception of Nekundi no other NEC members attended.
“This is the beginning of a new era,” Nekundi confidently said.
“Those who do not want to toe the line must do the right thing and go. We will not tolerate any splinter groups in SPYL.”
He also announced that the youth wing’s central committee would convene this weekend.
Nekundi had been labeled a “sell-out” by some NEC members, with others accusing him of divulging youth league matters to the party’s elders.
The NEC on Saturday said it would recommend to the party’s central committee to expel Nekundi.
Eddy Kafita, whom NEC members said was the acting secretary of SPYL, said the top leadership of the youth league would meet at an appropriate time and set a date for the central committee meeting to be held.
The claims and counterclaims of who is acting as league secretary affirms perceived deep divisions in SPYL.
Some NEC members claim that Kafita is the acting secretary, while Nekundi claims he is entitled to stand in as acting secretary, by virtue of his position as deputy secretary.
Allegations have meanwhile surfaced that Nekundi apparently authored a letter addressed to party president Dr Hage Geingob calling for the dismissal of the current SPYL NEC, but Nekundi yesterday strongly denied the allegation.
“If there is such a letter, someone probably wrote it under my name pretending that I wrote it,” Nekundi said.
The Swapo member of parliament also laughed off a suspension letter written to him by Kafita, in which he was ordered to cease involving himself in SPYL affairs while on suspension.