Former AR spokesperson claims he never resigned from Swapo

Former Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement spokesperson Simon Amunime says he is a member of Swapo, the party he described as a conglomeration of thieves and aspiring thieves when he announced his resignation from the party nearly two years ago.

Amunime and other AR leaders, including Job Amupanda, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and George Kambala, announced their resignations from Swapo on social media on 26 August 2020 under the banner “we will fix Namibia, we got this”.

At the time of their resignation, he and other AR leaders cited rampant corruption within Swapo as the reason.

They said they attempted to cleanse the party but their attempts were met with resistance by “the corrupt elite” within the party.

Speaking to The Namibian on Friday, Amunime said he never resigned from Swapo after joining the party in 2015, and his resignation announced on social media in 2020 was a gimmick orchestrated by Amupanda.

“I have never resigned (from Swapo). I have never taken my membership to the headquarters or written a resignation letter to any party structure. But I am aware there was a sort of social media prank, that was arranged of course by iduna – Amupanda – where he hired a personal designer and they took people’s pictures from Facebook and just designed some sort of resignations like that,” Amunime said.

Amunime said people do not resign from political parties in groups but rather as individuals because they subscribe to party membership individually.

He said the AR has been a pressure group operating within the framework of Swapo, and a lot of people were sympathetic and offered support and guidance behind the scenes.

He said he was one of the sympathisers and associated with the movement because it was still operating within the ruling party.
“Personally, I have subscribed to membership of the ruling party since 2015 and that remains. Nothing has changed.”

Amunime also claimed Amupanda has also not officially resigned from Swapo either, and that he carries his Swapo membership card in his wallet.
A post bearing Amunime’s photo was distributed on social media on 26 August 2020 stating that he had resigned from the “corrupt” party as continued association with it was “irrational to my moral and revolutionary consciousness”.

“South West Africa [Political Organisation] is a conglomeration of thieves and aspiring thieves.”

‘THE UNIFIER’

He said he was part of a Swapo faction supporting Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in the run-up to the Swapo elective congress last year.

He also said he was involved in Nandi-Ndaitwah’s campaign.

According to Amunime, he lobbied family members and delegates to the Swapo congress to rally behind Nandi-Ndaitwah because she is “capable, competent, credible and a unifier”.

He claims that in the absence of a unifier in Swapo, hostility, chaos, havoc, mayhem and disorder take centre stage.

“To me, what is important is not loyalty to a political party whatsoever, but the candidate that it has brought forth. For me, I fully believe in the leadership of Netumbo, she is a credible, clean person. Her approach, and experience… she is the only capable person that can take Namibia forward,” he said.

Amunime said although he was not a delegate to the congress, his parents, friends and close relatives serve in Swapo structures and he influenced those close to him to vote for Nandi-Ndaitwah.

A person close to Nandi-Ndaitwah’s faction confirmed that Amunime was part of her campaign.

Contacted for comment, Amupanda said as the head of communications, Amunime oversaw the resignation posters.

“He must carry his cross. We wish him the best in his desperate plans to implement rotation in parliament and the Cabinet,” he said.
Amunime and AR head of elections Paulus Paulus were fired from the AR movement for allegedly dragging its name through the mud and sowing seeds of division.