Age comes with wisdom – Swapo member on Nandi-Ndaitwah

Swapo member of parliament Phillipus Katamelo says those who think Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (71) is too old to be president should look no further than King Solomon in the Bible.

Katamelo says Nandi-Ndaitwah’s age comes with the gift of wisdom and cites King Solomon who asked God for wisdom above all else.

“It’s not about age, that’s why when you read the books written by King Solomon, you will know that he was asked, ‘what do you want?’ and he said, ‘I want wisdom’.”

Speaking at a Swapo rally at Oshakati on Saturday, Katamelo said wisdom does not come with youth but only with age.

Katamelo added that Swapo does not field Nandi-Ndaitwah because she is a woman or because she is the vice president but because she has not been implicated in any corruption scandals.

He said Nandi-Ndaitwah has been in government for 34 years, with 29 years in political offices, but has never been connected to any corrupt activities.

“Since 1995 up to now, there is no corruption attributed to the name of Nandi-Ndaitwah. That tells you a story about the character of that individual. That tells you that within the formulation of her DNA, there is a value system that she herself subscribes to and she has done politics with principles,” said Katamelo.

This was one of the qualities the party saw in Nandi-Ndaitwah, he added.

In 2004, Nandi-Ndaitwah’s political career almost ended when she was placed in position 54 on the Swapo parliamentary list, he said.

“They said she was out and never coming back because those who supported a certain candidate (at the 2004 extraordinary congress) were made strategically to fall down the list. To be 54, it was a tall order because at the time we had a chamber of 72 seats.”

After the 2004 elections, Nandi-Ndaitwah was out but she returned to parliament as one of the presidential nominees on the list.

“So, it’s not a coincidence that today the leader should be her. Some things are designed and God uses us as instruments to propel what he has given to us. This is a time for women, this is a time of meme and this will be her time.

“She will come and cure us from that corruption because she is not corrupt. She has proven this over and above,” he said.

Political analyst Henning Melber says equating age to wisdom is similar to stereotypical biological prejudice.

“Such biological nonsense should not play a role in politics. Wisdom is not a matter of age. And when it comes with age (as it does occasionally), it is a reason to retire from political responsibility to become an elder who advises,” he adds.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende says the continuous reference to Bible verses by Swapo leaders demonstrates the poverty of ideas.

“Katamelo clearly doesn’t know or is ignorant of the fact that the Constitution of the republic, which he swore to defend, states Namibia is a secular state,” he says.