Staff Writer
Swapo Party Secretary for Information and Mobilization, Hilma Nicanor, has accused Affirmative Repositioning (AR) members of “hooliganism and anarchy” in the National Assembly, condemning what she described as deliberate and politically motivated disruptions of parliamentary proceedings.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Nicanor said the conduct of AR members, under the leadership of Job Amupanda, was “nothing short of a vile political charade” aimed at rendering parliament ineffective, sowing discord and scoring “cheap political points”.
She accused Amupanda and his colleagues of engaging in disruption, intimidation and deliberate sabotage of parliamentary proceedings, saying their conduct amounted to a direct insult to the people of Namibia who elected members of parliament to make laws and exercise oversight.
Nicanor also accused AR members of disregarding parliamentary rules, citing an incident in which Amupanda allegedly attempted to address the National Assembly while dressed in jeans and later spoke on a cellphone inside the chamber.
According to Nicanor, the resulting shouting and commotion forced the Speaker of the National Assembly, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to adjourn proceedings for the remainder of the day.
Nicanor further accused AR of treating parliament as a platform for “anarchism and chaos” rather than a forum for reasoned debate and policy contestation.
She has called for the “strongest appropriate sanctions” against Amupanda and the AR members involved, while urging the “agent provocateurs”, as she described them, to stop what she termed the “despicable exploitation of democratic space”.
The party said the disruptions were calculated attempts to intimidate, harass and paralyze the work of the National Assembly.
#WindhoekObserver
