By Kuvee Kangueehi
Windhoek
He is Mr Swapo, a nationalist, a leader whose ideology and credentials cannot be questioned. He has been at the helm of the party as the secretary-general since 2002. His term of office at the nerve centre of the party is expected to come to an end this year at the much-anticipated congress. However, many believe that the term of office of Ernest Ngarikutuke Tjiriange effectively came to an end in May 2004 and he his quietly waiting for the term to end officially.
The administration of the party is said to be in a shambles and he has gradually lost control over party structures, and indiscipline is creeping among members, observers say. No official diagnosis has been made to determine the cause of the current state of affairs, but many believe that Tjiriange was caught in a crossfire ahead of the historical 2004 Swapo Extra Ordinary Congress.
His honeymoon since his election as secretary-general at the 2002 congress after being nominated and supported by President Sam Nujoma was short-lived. Soon afterwards, he had to confirm and re-affirm time after time that Nujoma was finally going to step down as country president despite there being no word from Nujoma.
Neutrality ahead of the 2004 presidential candidate election was not an option for Tjiriange. He was finally sucked into the party squabbles. The suspicion that he was supporting former foreign affairs minister Hidipo Hamutenya greatly contributed to certain structures of the party starting to undermine his leadership. And his greatest quality to survive the harsh Swapo politics, by avoiding confrontation, proved to be his greatest weakness as the party under modern democratic governance demanded more transparency from the secretary-general.
However, in an exclusive interview with New Era, Tjiriange believes that although the party went through transformation during his reign as secretary-general, his time has been fruitful and the party has gained a lot in terms of strength and popularity. He noted that at the time he took over, it was the first time in the history of the party that the president of the country was not the president of the party.
“It was a totally new situation and came as a result of the Namibian constitutional requirements which limit the term of office and Nujoma could not proceed.” He noted that Nujoma was elected by the 3rd Swapo Congress as the president of the party for a five-year term which only ends this year, and thus the election of the country in 2004 came in the middle of the stream.
The Minister of Veteran Affairs says when he took over, the party saw competition of three comrades vying for the single position of country presidency. “Naturally there were three camps and the three candidates who were selling themselves had their followers, and that was okay.” He noted that the problem started when party members who were supporting a candidate who lost refused to back the winner.
“As a matter of principle, all party members should have united and rallied behind the winner irrespective of the fact that their first preferred candidate lost.” The Secretary General said there are still pockets of party members who by hook or crook still persist with pushing the candidate that lost and these members have not done well in the community.
He strongly refuted allegations that he supported Hamutenya. He noted that as the secretary-general of the party, he was a referee and thus could not support any candidate.
“It is a lie of the highest order, I never supported Hamutenya and even if I had to support any of the three candidates, it was definitely not him.” He revealed that even the party president who had a candidate asked him to back his candidate but he could not because any of the candidates who won or lost should have faith in him.
Tjiriange notes that the extra-ordinary congress did not undermine his leadership and the congress was a good exercise for democracy. He, however, notes that the party soon afterwards had to deal with the expulsion of politburo member Jesaya Nyamu and then the Avid saga which involved the Secretary of the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) Paulus Kapia.
“In a mass organisation such as Swapo it is healthy to have different views but it is bad when the ideas are destructive to the party and not in line with the constitution.” He stresses that it is good to differ as long as it is in the confines of the party constitution.
He adds that another challenge the party faced was to mobilise more Namibians from all walks of life and tribal groups to join the party. He notes that the party did put up a strong programme and attracted hundreds of people who have now joined its ranks. The party is bigger than ever before.
He says another challenge was for the party councilors to win constituencies that they never won before. They managed to win in places such as Tsumkwe and Windhoek East. He, however, notes that a setback was that the party lost in Otjombinde Constituency and the task now is to rectify that mistake.
“We lost because of disorganisation within the party structures and this gave a loophole for other parties to exploit and take over.”
Tjiriange also refutes claims that he avoids confrontation and thus cannot affectively run the organisation. He says he believes in the theory that he avoids confrontation by not allowing confrontation to arise. He says if there are problems within the party he approaches his comrades and seeks solutions to avoid confrontation.
“Many believe that I am weak because I do not impose my power on people but only make them understand their weak points.” He adds that he does not take sides but rather seeks solutions among comrades.
Regarding is future, Tjiriange says personally, he has thought of calling it a day when his term comes to an end but he is a service person and will be willing to serve the party.
He is however quick to add that he does not necessarily need to be an secretary-general to serve the party and can act in other positions.
“I have served in many capacities, as an ordinary member, central committee member and politburo and willing to continue serving the party.”
Tjiriange has been Swapo’s main legal advisor and member of the Central Committee since 1970. He joined the party in the early 1960s and left for exile in 1964. He shot to prominence in the party when he was the Swapo representative for Eastern Europe.
As an impressive and aggressive speaker, he was the party’s voice in Eastern Europe and together with Nicky Iyambo was based in the Scandinavian countries, while Peter Katjavivi was in the United Kingdom and Hage Geingob in United States.
Coming from a communist background and having studied law in the former Soviet Union, Tjiriange identified with the party better because Swapo at the time was socialist leaning.
The chances of the old stalward retaining his position during the coming party congress looks very slim. Many believe that if it was not for the support of Nujoma and Nyamu’s failure to be nominated for the secretary-general position, he would have never got the position.
But being a true product of the party, he will not be left in the cold although age and his personal weakness are against him.