‘Swapo is dying in silence’

…Okorukambe district coordinator claims victimisation from Shaningwa

Swapo Okorukambe district coordinator Frans Murangi says the party is dying silently because members are afraid of discussing leadership issues.

Murangi, who is also a member of Swapo’s think tank, was speaking to The Namibian last month.

He said unless Swapo addresses the wrongdoings of its leadership, it is likely to face the same fate as South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC).

Murangi claimed Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa has been victimising him and wants to have him removed from his position as the Okorukambe district coordinator.

“Shaningwa’s behaviour is dividing the party, Swapo is dying in silence because people are not willing to confront the reality facing the party. Since I became the district coordinator of Okorukambe, I have faced victimisation from Shaningwa,” he said.

According to previous media reports, Murangi was removed from his position in 2017 in place of another candidate, despite Swapo having endorsed his election.

Shaningwa was then reportedly ordered by late president Hage Geingob to apologise to Murangi after he was summoned before the Swapo politburo in 2022 for being troublesome.

“She wanted to push me out of my position. The victimisation reached a point where I had to clear my name in the politburo,” he said.

Murangi further claimed Shaningwa has also refused to provide membership cards for his region.

“Last June, I went out on a recruitment exercise in my district and my membership cards, along with those of other district coordinators, were sent to the head office. My cards are still in her hands and she has been refusing to return them for reasons known only to herself.”

He said he tried to engage Shaningwa several times on the matter but to no avail.

Murangi further said Shaningwa visits his district without informing him.

“She has even visited my branch without my knowledge as the coordinator, it is uncalled for. This has never happened in the history of Swapo.”

Responding to The Namibian’s questions on Friday, Shaningwa refuted the victimisation allegations.

“I know that tall trees always suffer storms [but] the victimisation of Murangi is a myth because Murangi is quite a distance from Windhoek,” she said.

According to Shaningwa, Murangi should focus on solving issues in his district.

“If he has problems in his district, he should deal with issues there. When I joined the office as secretary general, Murangi was in the leadership of Swapo at Okorukambe. Several meetings and squabbles apparently happened before my time.”

According to Shaningwa, all membership cards are with the regional coordinator.

“All Swapo party cards are with Ruth Mbura, regional coordinator of the Omaheke region,” she said.

In 2018, The Namibian reported that the late politician Kazenambo Kazenambo had urged senior Swapo leaders to create platforms for dialogue to save the party from collapsd due to internal divisions.

Kazenambo said Swapo’s leaders and the factions contesting for positions at the elective congress were to blame for the divisions because they failed to create platforms for those aggrieved by the outcome of the congress to be heard.

Kazenambo had said senior Swapo leaders were ignorant of the fact that the party was divided and continuously made false statements claiming members were united.