Venaani at it again

With elections drawing closer and political parties going out of their way to appeal to the electorate, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) president McHenry Venaani set the political and social sphere abuzz again after arriving at a rally in an unmarked taxi at Tsumeb the past weekend.

He was welcomed by a cheering crowd of supporters who praised him for arriving in a taxi.

He was also spotted pushing a wheelbarrow with local children at the town.

‘’I walk every day and I jump into taxis every day…That is my life. That is who I am,” he told The Namibian when asked if this was him gearing up for next year’s elections.

Venaani is no stranger to public stunts. In 2014, immediately after taking the reins of the party from the late Katuutire Kaura, Venaani stayed in a shack at the Ombili informal settlement in Katutura for three days, taking baths in a makeshift bathroom while there.

At the time, he said the PDM would build a house for the family he stayed with in Katutura, but nine years later, this promise has not been honoured.

At Opuwo in 2014, he arrived at a rally in a donkey cart. He took it further in October 2020, when he arrived at a PDM rally at Berseba riding a horse.

Venaani is set to battle it out for the country’s presidency against Swapo presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Landless People’s Movement leader Bernadus Swartbooi, Independent Patriots for Change leader Panduleni Itula, political greenhorn Ally Angula, Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda and other candidates yet to confirm their candidature for the 2024 elections.

PLAYING TO THE GALLERY

Political analyst Rui Tyitende told The Namibian Venaani is known to engage in public spectacles in order to project himself as a ‘man of the people’.

“Be it riding in a donkey cart in Kunene, sleeping in a shack in Ombili, or utilising public transportation. However, Namibian politicians have proven to exhibit a stupefying ability to suspend their conscience (if they have any) by fooling the public with such idiotic and public spectacles,” he said.

Tyitende said Venaani has in the past gone on record to say he owns a fleet of personal vehicles, so him arriving at a rally in a taxi should be seen as an act of political symbolism with a “tinge of political opportunism”.

He said the Namibian public is well aware when they are confronted with political gimmicks and other ‘Mickey Mouse’ practices meant to dupe them in any election cycle.

“People can no longer be fooled, as the brunt of hunger, poverty and unemployment fails to escape their everyday lives,” he said.

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah asked whether Venaani will continue doing that if elected as president and whether he will make it a policy.

“How does Venaani’s arrival in a taxi change the situation on the ground?”

I’M ALSO HUMAN

Venaani yesterday defended his arrival at a party rally at Tsumeb in an unmarked taxi.

He said it was not an attempt to garner political support ahead of next year’s general elections as he lives a modest life.

Venaani has been castigated by social media users who say the move was a publicity stunt.

As he approached the venue, PDM members could be heard describing him as the “man of the moment. The man that is travelling in a taxi”.

However, Venaani said he often takes taxis, even in Windhoek.

“I am not a new politician, I am a well-known politician in this country. Surely my character should be known. I don’t jump into taxis during elections. Ask my children, ask my neigbours in a posh living area where I live in Windhoek. Ask Desmond Amunyela, who lives in the same street as myself. Ask people who know me. I walk every day and I jump into taxis every day…That is my life. That is who I am.”

He also said he has been staying in a shack at one of his farms for years because there is no farm house.

“It’s not a new thing. Nearly everybody who sees me knows about it. So, please don’t judge my character out of electioneering. Whoever is trying to do that is surely not in the know of what kind of a person I am,” Venaani said.

He also said when he is at his farm, he drives trucks.

“That’s who I am. I am just that person. I am not really buying into this character of being judged on what I do, when I do [it]. The reason I came in a taxi was, there was a problem with my car,” Venaani said.