Nujoma’s private meeting with Mnangagwa raises eyebrows

Political eyebrows were raised when Utoni Nujoma met Emmerson Mnangagwa for a “private visit” at State House in Harare on Friday.

Utoni Nujoma is the son of former president Sam Nujoma, who played a key role in discouraging his father from a fourth term in 2005, and Emmerson Mnangagwa is the president of Zimbabwe.

Utoni Nujoma (72), currently minister of labour, industrial relations and employment creation, says his visit was private, although he spoke about history and his past interactions with Mnangagwa to reporters.

Briefing journalists, Nujoma, accompanied by his friend Moses Kerekou, son to late Benin former president Mathieu Kerekou who ruled for 19 years, said: “I am here on a private visit and as you know when the president was minister of justice, I was the minister of justice in Namibia. Since then we have been working together trying to resolve the region’s problems. As you know, during that time the land issue was very hot. There was an animal created called the Sadc Tribunal, so I and the president had to strategise so that we make sure that the land reform programme in Zimbabwe became successful and I am happy we have done a great job.

“This visit is primarily private and I am here with my colleague from Benin. He is the son of former president of Benin, Korekau. Before Namibia’s independence, through president Muammar Gaddafi, he used to bring us together as youth activists.

“I was also a former youth activist, representing the liberation movements in southern Africa and I was based in Algeria. So that’s where ANC, Swapo, Zanu PF and many other activists from Mozambique and Angola were meeting, strategising how we can liberate southern Africa and our region.”

A close friend of Nujoma, who is also former justice, foreign affairs and land reform minister, says the visit was “curious and interesting”, but it was characterised by “political and business” interests.

“I followed my old friend Utoni’s visit to Harare and his meeting with Mnangagwa last Friday. It was curious and interesting, even to some of his friends like me. There are three things involved here.

“First, Mnangagwa is the SADC chairperson and Utoni has good relations with him. This forms the basis of the ‘private visit’. Mnangagwa will oversee Namibia’s general elections due next month. Outgoing president Nangolo Mbumba, who replaced late president Hage Geingob in February, is not standing.

“The second thing is that Utoni could have been here for business because he was accompanied by a friend Moses Kerekou; he is a former ambassador to Turkey and a development expert. They may be in pursuit of some business deals.

“Thirdly, this could be a regional political initiative to stop Mnangagwa from a third term or his 2030 campaign. Utoni played a key role in getting his father to avoid a fourth term.

“They approached him as a family when he was celebrating his 75th birthday in 2004 at his village, Etunda village, in the Omusati region, to indicate that he needed to rest and be with his family enjoying retirement as he had spent so many years in exile.

“Nujoma heeded their call and advice, delivered in a diplomatic way. This is the sort of thing that Mnangagwa needs now. He doesn’t have grown children like Utoni. Mnangagwa turned 82 last week, but he wants to continue. You know Sam Nujoma was 76 when he retired. He is now 95. So, there could be some regional diplomatic initiative and sharing of notes involved. What Utoni, his family, and some Swapo leaders managed to do by persuading Sam Nujoma to retire was to preserve his legacy. Mnangagwa can learn a lot from that.”

Born on 12 May 1929, Sam Nujoma, who led Namibia’s liberation movement, became the country’s first president in 1990 and ruled for 15 years until 2005.

He stepped down as Swapo leader on 30 November 2007, handing over the reins of power to Hifikepunye Pohamba, who was later succeeded by Geingob.

Stepping down on that historic day, Sam Nujoma said: “I am stepping down as president of Swapo with a full sense of fulfilment. I am proud to have worked with the entire leadership of Swapo. Collectively, we have steered Swapo through immense challenges, some of which might have seemed insurmountable. There were internal contradictions, most often driven by tribalistic, power-hungry, unpatriotic, and selfish individuals. In all these challenges, Swapo preserved, survived, and emerged even stronger.”

Despite his advanced age, Mnangagwa, the late former president Robert Mugabe’s protege, is currently pushing behind the scenes to extend his rule beyond his 2028 constitutional second term limit to 2030 despite his denials.

During his birthday celebrations at Great Zimbabwe Monuments in Masvingo recently, Mnangagwa, coronated himself a modern-day Munhumutapa, a 15th century Shona emperor.

He even declared his birthday – 15 September – Munhumutapa Day, which he wants to be celebrated nationally annually like Mugabe’s Youth Day on 22 February.

Mugabe ruled for 37 years until he was 93 and led Zanu PF for 40 years. He was removed in a coup led by Mnangagwa in November 2017.

The contradiction in political dynamics in Zimbabwe and Namibia power on this is that Nandi-Ndaitwah, is married to Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah, former chief of the Namibian Defence Force, a close friend and ally of Zimbabwean vice president Constantino Chiwenga.

Ndaitwah was the best man in Chiwenga’s wedding to colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi in Harare last year in December, widely billed as the vice president’s own coronation as incoming leader of Zimbabwe.

From his wedding, Chiwenga has been relentlessly chasing his ambition to succeed Mnangagwa and is willing to fight for it, according to his close allies.

Chiwenga and his military allies did not attend Mnangagwa’s birthday at Great Zimbabwe, where a presidential helicopter, in which he was supposed to be in, crash landed upon takeoff going to fetch him.

Mnangagwa ended up travelling back to Harare by road.