By Kakishi wa Kanantinda
KAYENGONA, Aug. 6 — After the Swapo Party political bureau released a schedule which directed that all the regions must have completed their conferences at the latest by 13 August 2022, this created nightmares for the Kavango East region as their upcoming conference is slated for the same date next week Saturday as the leadership fights for its survival.
While Swapo Party District leadership of the Rundu Rural constituency under the leadership of the district coordinator, district mobilizer, district executive committees and majority branches held their conference in Likwaterera on the outskirts of Rundu Town on Saturday 30 July to elect candidates and delegates to the regional conference, unknown Swapo members also had a similar conference with a few branches at Kayengona village 10 km east of Rundu town, where they also nominated delegates and candidates for the upcoming Swapo regional conference, representing Rundu Rural constituency bringing confusion to the party structures.
The legitimate Swapo leadership of Rundu rural at their conference at Likwaterera nominated Gabriel Hakusembe for the regional coordinator position, Marceline Kahare for regional mobilizer and Protasius Ndjamba for treasurer.
The meeting at Kayengona however nominated different candidates and delegates to the regional conference with incumbent coordinator Otillie Shinduvi, Boniface Kudumo for the mobilizer position and Patrick Haingura for treasurer.
According to those close to the politics of Kavango apparently, the regional leadership is now recognising the meeting which was held at Kayengona, sidelining the extra-district conference held by legitimate district leadership of Rundu rural at Likwaterera with the reasoning that the regional leadership sent people to supervise elections at Kayengona, not at Likwaterera.
Among people sent by the regional leadership to apparently supervise unknown elections at Kayengona without district leadership, Boniface Kudumo was also nominated for the regional mobilizer position.
Coordinator of Swapo party Rundu rural District Sixtus Kudumo in a letter to Secretary General of Swapo party Sophia Shaningwa on Friday, this reporter described the situation as disturbing as it will lead to a chaotic upcoming regional conference and requested SG to intervene as a matter of urgency.
Shaningwa could not be reached for comment as she and party vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah were reportedly addressing the Swapo party star rally in Swakopmund in the Erongo region today – Namibia Daily News.