Fierce feuding continues over Ongwediva council nominees

PERSISTENT efforts are rumoured to be continuing to persuade four newly selected Swapo Councillors at Ongwediva to make way for the previous town councillors to be re-instated as electoral candidates, despite them having lost the party’s internal nomination-selection process in April.

The Town Council has seven Swapo town councillors including the mayor and deputy mayor. The nomination of Swapo local authority candidates took place at the end of March and only three of the seven incumbent councillors – Julia Nepembe, Gabriel Kandjengo and Erastus Uutoni – survived the selection process.Uutoni was apparently listed last and stood the risk of losing his seat to the DTA or Congress of Democrats (CoD).Minister of Labour Marco Hausiku, who chaired the selection process, declared the election free and fair and the names of the new candidates was sent to Swapo Head Office and also to the Office of the Electoral Commission.However, some councillors, including Uutoni himself, were allegedly unhappy and asked Swapo Head Office in Windhoek for the nomination-selection to be declared null and void.As a result a new election was held in early April.Swapo Head Office sent Minister of Labour Marco Hausiku and Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, to observe the re-selection process.This time the previous town councillors, with the exception of Julia Nepembe, failed to be re-elected, including Mayor Erastus Uutoni and his deputy, Patricia Kashuupulwa.The new list included Julia Nepembe (41 votes), John Kanandjembo (39 votes), Samuel Nanguti (39 votes), Nangolo Auala (37 votes) Angelina Amushigamo (30 votes), Asino Jason (22) votes and Maria Kavela (20 votes).The councillors who failed to make the list have allegedly appealed to Swapo Head Office and want the four new candidates to make way for Erastus Uutoni, Patricia Kashuupulwa, Angelina Angula and Maria Awene.The reason they reportedly gave was that very important work related to the development of Ongwediva had to be completed bythe incumbent councillors, and that without them nothing would be done.There have also been allegations of interference in the nomination process by National Council Chairman Kandy Nehova, who is also Regional Councillor of the Ongwediva constituency.Nehova has dismissed the claims, but they persist.A number of the newly nominated candidates The Namibian spoke to said that they had been called to Swapo Head Office in Oshakati and, to their surprise, were told about the new move.They say this left them stunned.”I really don’t know… we are in a democratic country with elections and I thought that if you lost an election, you have to accept that.But some of our people do not want to accept that, why?” asked one candidate.Approached for comment, Nehova, who further chairs the committee of the Swapo Central Committee on Procedures of Elections, told The Namibian that Swapo believed hat once you had been elected fairly, the results of that election had to be respected.He charged that what some people were trying to do at Ongwediva was unconstitutional.The nomination of Swapo local authority candidates took place at the end of March and only three of the seven incumbent councillors – Julia Nepembe, Gabriel Kandjengo and Erastus Uutoni – survived the selection process.Uutoni was apparently listed last and stood the risk of losing his seat to the DTA or Congress of Democrats (CoD).Minister of Labour Marco Hausiku, who chaired the selection process, declared the election free and fair and the names of the new candidates was sent to Swapo Head Office and also to the Office of the Electoral Commission.However, some councillors, including Uutoni himself, were allegedly unhappy and asked Swapo Head Office in Windhoek for the nomination-selection to be declared null and void.As a result a new election was held in early April.Swapo Head Office sent Minister of Labour Marco Hausiku and Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, to observe the re-selection process.This time the previous town councillors, with the exception of Julia Nepembe, failed to be re-elected, including Mayor Erastus Uutoni and his deputy, Patricia Kashuupulwa.The new list included Julia Nepembe (41 votes), John Kanandjembo (39 votes), Samuel Nanguti (39 votes), Nangolo Auala (37 votes) Angelina Amushigamo (30 votes), Asino Jason (22) votes and Maria Kavela (20 votes).The councillors who failed to make the list have allegedly appealed to Swapo Head Office and want the four new candidates to make way for Erastus Uutoni, Patricia Kashuupulwa, Angelina Angula and Maria Awene.The reason they reportedly gave was that very important work related to the development of Ongwediva had to be completed bythe incumbent councillors, and that without them nothing would be done.There have also been allegations of interference in the nomination process by National Council Chairman Kandy Nehova, who is also Regional Councillor of the Ongwediva constituency.Nehova has dismissed the claims, but they persist.A number of the newly nominated candidates The Namibian spoke to said that they had been called to Swapo Head Office in Oshakati and, to their surprise, were told about the new move.They say this left them stunned.”I really don’t know… we are in a democratic country with elections and I thought that if you lost an election, you have to accept that.But some of our people do not want to accept that, why?” asked one candidate.Approached for comment, Nehova, who further chairs the committee of the Swapo Central Committee on Procedures of Elections, told The Namibian that Swapo believed hat once you had been elected fairly, the results of that election had to be respected.He charged that what some people were trying to do at Ongwediva was unconstitutional.