Skrywer and Shaningwa trade barbs over court application

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has hit back at Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, calling her a “drama queen” after she criticised their court application as a “wild fishing expedition”.

In a replying affidavit, Shaningwa has watered down the LPM’s claims that last year’s elections were a sham, saying there is no evidence to that effect.

“The person shouldn’t just be taken seriously, in my opinion, and how I interpret her actions is that she’s nothing but a wannabe relevant drama queen,” says Skrywer.

“She probably thinks she’s in some kind of an African movie set. I mean this is law and very complex legal matters for her to understand, I bet she didn’t even read the affidavits,” said LPM’s Ivan Skrywer in a statement.

Shaningwa says that the LPM’s case is a ploy “driven by dissatisfaction with the election results”.

The LPM has closed ranks with the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), which initially brought the court challenge.

“She must wake up and smell the coffee. Not even a corrupt judge or a court in some dictatorship-led country can look away from the unlawful and unconstitutional dealings from the officials mentioned in the affidavits, that’s what we will prove.

“Two of their former secretary generals were lawyers by training. They would understand the depth of the LPM challenges through a proper reading of the law. Ngarikutuke Tjiriange and Pendukeni Ithana. On the other hand, Sophia is just really an attention-seeking media character,” Skrywer says.

He adds, “We are watching them closely. The courts must not follow the Mozambique route as the consequences are terrible, but be independent and without any outside influence.”