Venaani claims intelligence agency pays leaders to destabilise parties

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) president McHenry Venaani has accused the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) of paying some political leaders to destabilise political parties.

Venaani made the claim at his party’s central committee meeting at Opuwo in the Kunene region on Friday.

He claimed the spy agency recently created a new party called Action Democratic Movement (ADM) to try to confuse people from the PDM.

“We are seeing what the central intelligence is doing,” Venaani said.

He urged president Nangolo Mbumba to take the resources of the NCIS out of politics.

“We know what you are doing. This organisation that I lead should survive beyond your central intelligence,” Venaani said.

NCIS director general Benedict Likando on Saturday said Venaani should raise his issue in parliament, specifically to the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and security, in which he serves.

Action Democratic Movement interim president Vinsent Kanyetu said his party did not receive money and was not started by the NCIS.

Kanyetu, who was the PDM’s secretary general from 2013 to 2015, said Venaani sent him a text message about a week ago in which he alleged that Kanyetu’s party was given money by the intelligence service.

“I thought he was joking. We haven’t received any money by anyone. Venaani is not telling the truth,” Kanyetu said.

He added that when he resigned from the All People’s Party in August last year, Venaani tried to recruit him back into the PDM.

“He wanted me to be PDM coordinator and I said PDM should instead pay me my pension. He said that would be difficult to do but he would work out on my salary. He said he would pay me a good salary,” Kanyetu said.