Former Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reporter Tuuliki Abraham has secured a prominent position on Swapo’s parliamentary list, saying the transition from journalism to politics is natural.
Abraham, who used to freelance for Kati FM, ranked 35th on the list, which was announced by Swapo electoral college presiding officer Fillemon Immanuel on Monday.
The former reporter is poised to become a member of parliament if Swapo wins more than 35 seats in the upcoming elections.
Two Kati FM employees this week confirmed that Abraham ceased her freelancing position at the Oshiwambo radio station after being elected to the Swapo Party Elders Council central committee in 2022.
Abraham yesterday said she is ready to contribute to the shaping of policies for the benefit of all Namibians.
“Journalism has accorded me the opportunity to gauge the public, and I have been privileged enough to understand what the shortcomings in the public sector are,” she said.
“The transition from journalism to politics is a natural progression,” she said.
Abraham in 2022 told The Namibian she freelanced for New Era from 2014 to 2019.
“I was born in Swapo. I was groomed by Swapo,” she said at the time.
Former Kati FM manager Helena Shiimbi also sought a parliamentary position at the just-ended Swapo electoral college, but was unsuccessful.
Abraham is not the only former NBC employee to transition to politics.
Modestus Amutse, the current deputy minister of information and communication technology (ICT), is a former NBC reporter who was elected as councillor for the Oshikuku constituency in 2010. He served in that position until the end of 2019.
Other notable figures include the late John ya Kanandjembo, Kati FM’s former executive producer, who became a local authority councillor for the Ongwediva Town Council after retiring from the NBC.
Additional reporters from state-owned media who made the leap to politics include Engel Nawatiseb, a former deputy minister of ICT and the late Kazenambo Kazenambo, who served as minister of youth and national service.
Rodman Katjaimo, formerly at NBC’s Omurari FM, became a councillor of the Popular Democratic Movement after leaving the radio station, and is currently serving as a councillor for Katutura Central constituency.
Former Tobias Hainyeko constituency councillor Erasmus Hendjala is listed on the parliamentary website as a former reporter and translator with New Era in the early 1990s.
Known as ‘Kaptein’ Hendjala is a former reporter who edited the Catholic newsletter Omukuni before independence.
After independence, he briefly worked for New Era.
The NBC dismissed its director general, Bob Kandetu, in 2019, following an alleged association with the Rally for Democracy and Progress.
State-owned media has previously been accused of discriminating against opposition parties.
Last year, Landless People’s Movement leader Bernadus Swartbooi accused reporters of colluding with politicians.
He urged reporters to stick to their profession, saying his party members had found a reporter partying with Swapo members in the //Kharas region last year.
Former reporter and now academic Henning Melber says reporters, like anyone else, have the right to opt for political affiliation, but this comes with ethical-professional considerations and should not result in biased reporting.
“If reporters campaign for or move into any political office, they should refrain from any further reporting on policy matters in public media, unless these are party political organs and mouthpieces, such as Namibia Today,” he said.
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