By Aldrin Mukendwa
The ruling SWAPO party held its first star rally in Katima Mulilo recently ahead of the general elections marked next month.
Addressing the public at the gathering held at Katima Sports Complex, was SWAPO Secretary General, Mr. Nangolo Mbumba who was accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry who is the assigned national leader to Zambezi Region Mr. John Mutorwa, Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology Mr.Stanly Simataa and Presidential Affairs Minister and Attorney General Dr. Albert Kawana.
The gathering attracted many supporters from different constituencies of the region after the repeatedly public announcement on NBC Silozi Radio of the founding president Dr. Sam Nujoma who was the the official keynote speaker but unfortunately did not make it to the rally due to his other officail programs in the country.
The assigned SWAPO leader Mr. Mutorwa opened the campaign by telling his loyalist supporters that Namibia is a country that has a long political history dating from 1844 to March 21,1990. According to him this was a country that was physically occupied by foreign power, which firstly occupied by the imperial Germany from 1884 to the end of the first world war when Germany was defeated in the first world war and then it was entrusted through the mandate of the system of the league of Nations and later to the apartheid South Africa.
“If you can count it is a country that has endured 106 years of foreign rule and occupation” explained Mutorwa.
Mutorwa described the Namibia as a democratic state where the power and sovereignty lays in the people of Namibia and the people of Namibia have the power to elect the leaders of their choice “that’s the only means that we have in Namibia to elect leaders through the elections, through a ballot on a regular basis after five years and it’s the right which many people fought for.”
He further described SWAPO Secretary General, Mr. Mbumba as a fair, firm, honest, down to earth principled man with his colleagues who physically participated in the liberation struggle of Namibia who was assigned by SWAPO to be the first Secretary to the Cabinet of the Republic of Namibia, then later when the issue of Walvisbay was still a very hot issue when Namibia got its independence was still not liberated was still under the administration of South Africa, Mr.Mbumba was assigned with responsibility to be the administrator and chief negotiator for the return of Walvis Bay.
Mr.Mbumba who was introduced by Mr. Mutorwa addressed his cohorts that “I tell you some small parties if they get small number of people that’s a rally to them, if they can get small group of people like the leaders who are in this tent today they will not stop talking, but the SWAPO party has always been the party of the workers, the party of students, youth, women and above all the party liberation”.
He explained that no person can be higher than the liberator in Namibia than SWAPO under the leadership of Sam Nujoma to claim that position of the liberator.
“Some people think that they can rule the country and that they can administer the country alone because they are calling themselves Namibia Obamas, Obama is in America not here, here we have Sam Nujoma, Hifikepunye Pohamba and Hage Geingob those are our leaders” boasted Mbumba.
He thanked the people of the region for hosting and celebrating the worker’s day on 1 May this year, and the workers who indorsed Dr.Hage Gottfried Geingob as their candidate. “You witnessed and we thank you for that, two weeks ago the people of Bukalo settlement voted for the local authority of their choice and SWAPO got 80% we salute you for that”
“It’s easier sometimes to fight and continue fighting but it is important to know what you are fighting for. Are you fighting to kill people, we never fought to kill people, Are you fighting to sabotage people we never did that, we fought to liberate our country to free our people from the yoke of apartheid South Africa and we accomplished that”.
SWAPO Secretary General also used the opportunity to lambast the mushrooming of the opposition parties in the country saying “All these little parties they may say what they want, they were scared to take up arms and fight for their mother land what type of men and political leaders are they ? ” asked Mbumba.
Mbumba described the minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka as one of the members of parliament “who can only claim that she was shot by the bullet of the enemy South Africa, and sometimes when we talk we say I am honorable, honorable my foot did ever fought for your country.”
He warned those voted into positions of leadership to work hard irrespective of the place they come from in Namibia because that is the order of the SWAPO party.
“We will not elect any leader, nor will except leadership from somebody who want to divide Namibia. Rule unity of the Namibian people, Namibia is one as described in the Namibian constitution; anyone who wants to divide Namibia or dismember Namibia is an enemy of all Namibian people.” Mbumba warned
Mbumba warned the Caprivi Concerned Group (CCG) to refrain from telling people not go to the polls and vote for political leaders of their choice as illegal and he encouraged his supporters to rally behind the SWAPO party as the only party that can bring development to the people. “Now there are some people instead of working in unity with other people they are going around calling themselves that they are concerned concerned let them remain concerned but they cannot divide the Namibian people” he cautioned.
He further announced that the SWAPO party presidential candidate Dr.Hage Geingob will be visiting the region on November 2, to tell the people what he will do for them when takes power as the president on 21 March 2015.
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