Michael Amushelelo rejects ‘political prostitute’ label as he rejoins Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters

… Activist says joining LPM was strategic move

Social activist Michael Amushelelo says if he were a ‘political prostitute’, he would have gone back to Swapo, where there is wealth.

He says political prostitutes have “pocket interest”.

Amushelelo yesterday rejoined the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) after announcing on Tuesday that he did not want to be part of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) parliamentary list.

He emerged as number 31 on this list.

The activist said joining the LPM was a strategic move to allow the NEFF to deal with its deregistration by the Electoral Commission of Namibia at the time.

“The political prostitutes are those who go where their bellies and their pocket interests are sorted, as opposed to the interests of the people. “So, we are here to continue fighting for the economic emancipation and freedom of our people in our lifetime,” he told The Namibian yesterday.

Amushelelo said he went to seek political asylum and would like to thank the LPM for giving him that.

“That was sort of our exile, so I had to go to exile for the people here to continue with the battle,” he said.

He said the party waited for the final registration of presidential candidates before they announced his return.

“When we realised these people do not have the thinking capacity, we then fooled them by making sure I stated I’ll be resigning from the party, and for those of you, I’ll challenge you to please bring my resignation letter that I handed in.

“I just resigned on social media, so if that is the form of resignation, you can clearly see that was supposed to be a red flag, and they don’t think they don’t have that type of thinking capacity, because they are foolish,” he said.

Meanwhile, LPM national spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa says Amushelelo did not contribute to the party ideologically.

“When it comes to political ideology and concept, we don’t believe he had a robust contribution at his time, because there was still so much to learn,” he says.

He says the LPM has not received an official resignation letter from Amushelelo.

“However, because he has had a press statement and what we have seen through his social media accounts and so forth, the LPM has decided that we will accept his resignation as is,” he says.

Simataa says Amushelelo’s activism did not transition well to his political aspirations.

“We tried our best to be able to nurture him into a better politician where he can understand what political philosophy is, sponsors and so forth, rather than just resorting to an anarchistic style of just continuously closing down things without having a proper understanding of political systems and how these are interchangeable,” Simataa says.

NEFF deputy leader Kalimbo Iipumbu says Amushelelo’s rejoining signifies a renewed energy in the party’s mission to fight for economic justice and land redistribution.

“His decision to rejoin the NEFF comes at a time that Namibia needs fearless and progressive leadership to dismantle the legacy of colonialism and fight against economic apartheid.

“Amushelelo’s journey in the political arena has been one of dedication and resilience.

“After a brief period with the LPM, a move that we deliberated on after our deregistration, he continued to focus on land rights and social justice, Amushelelo has decided to return to his roots in the NEFF,” he says.

Political analyst Rui Tyitende says Amushelelo is indeed a political prostitute.

“All the politicians who move from party to party are not driven by values or political ideologies,” he says.

Tyitende says Amushelelo only cares about self-interest.

“The question is, if the NEFF had not been reregistered, would he have gone back?”