Ester Mbathera
The court case involving Reinhold Shipwikineni and four other Swapo members against the party and its presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has been postponed to 30 October.
The case that was initially scheduled for 18 October will now be heard by Judge Boas Usiku, replacing Judge Kobus Miller, who was originally set to preside over the matter.
Shipwikineni, along with Joshua Vaino Martins, Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Erich Chrismann Shivute, and Aina Kalimba Angula, has taken legal action against Swapo, accusing the party of failing to hold an extraordinary congress following the passing of President Hage Geingob.
The plaintiffs argue that the Swapo Party Constitution mandates the congress and is seeking to hold the party accountable for constitutional violations.
Richard Metcalfe, the lawyer representing Shipwikineni, told the Windhoek Observer on Monday that his client is not challenging Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as Swapo’s presidential candidate.
“My client, Reinhold Shipwikineni, has been framed as a maladroit who wishes to challenge the nomination of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the presidential nominee of the Swapo Party for the 2024 national elections. At no stage is this factual. There is no challenge for Comrade Nandi-Ndaitwah as the Swapo Party presidential candidate. Opportunistic elements within the mighty Swapo Party have hijacked the Party to ensure that their admitted corruption is condoned by their Fishrot involvement,” he said.
He said that the legal challenge is a call for Swapo members to adhere to both the party’s constitution and the Namibian Constitution.
“Swapo members must obey the law and obey the Swapo Party Constitution. No Swapo member is above the Swapo Party Constitution or the laws of Namibia,” he said.
Metcalfe also stressed that his clients are determined to pursue the matter in the High Court and will not be intimidated by internal party politics.
“My clients will not be cowed or intimidated by those who harbour pretensions of grandeur. Neither will they be sidelined into being the fall guys for devious self-appointed agendas for those who contorted themselves out of prosecution on Fishrot and admitted to receiving money for their own illegal and malignant agendas. The matter could easily be settled, but let the Court decide,” he said.
Last month, Swapo’s secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, in her answering affidavit, said the application by Shipwikineni is evident that his actual purpose and aim are to continue creating doubt in the minds of Swapo’s members over the legitimacy of Nandi-Ndaitwah’s presidential candidacy.
Shaningwa has accused Shipwikineni of being a destructive, divisive, and mischievous character, saying he politically thrives on propagating lies and misinformation on or about the party’s leadership.
The Swapo deputy secretary general, Uahekua Herunga, announced two weeks ago that the party has registered Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its presidential candidate with the Electoral Commission of Namibia.
“She is officially registered at the ECN as our presidential candidate. Go out in huge numbers and vote Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Swapo party so we can go beyond a two-third majority,” Herunga said.
