HH Explains His Leaving Swapo

24 June 2011

interview

Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) leader Hidipo Hamutenya explains events leading to his divorce from Swapo and why he sought an alternative route towards the country’s presidency

New Era: You have been in opposition politics for almost five years now. How has the experience been?

HH: “Well, what can I say? It was a process that was going on. Politics has its ups and downs. I was on the other side for many years and I left. I am in the opposition now.”

New Era: You are among the brains that spearheaded the formation of the RDP. How did the idea come about?

HH: “The RDP was formed because some people, some were in Swapo, were not happy with the situation in Swapo. They were not happy with several things in Swapo and therefore felt there was a need for an alternative political organization to Swapo. They approached me with the idea of going in a different direction. We felt there was need for a different channel for people to express their views. “

New Era: Are you at liberty to say what issues you were not happy with in Swapo?

HH: “The issues were many. One was the question of the limitation of democracy by the dominance of one party. Swapo dominates every political sector of society. It is controlling parliament, executive and the judiciary. It makes a mockery of multi-party democracy and the separation of power. It generates what is called ‘absolute power’.

“If you look at the level of corruption in our country, you’d realize that those who are allowing corruption to go on are not worried about the consequences. No action is taken against anybody who is not following the democratic lines. Now you have a situation where everything is deteriorating. The economic system is deteriorating as well as education, health. Nothing is improving. So those who approached me and I felt we would betray the people of Namibia if we sit down and look at bad things happening without doing anything about it.”

New Era: What’s your take on suggestions that the RDP was formed out of frustration endured at the Swapo 2004 Extraordinary Congress where you lost to eventual president, Hifikepunye Pohamba?

HH: “It was never my belief or intention to win elections at all costs. So that is not the reason (why RDP was formed). After those elections at the 2004 congress, I came to parliament for a short time. We had our clashes with the former president (Sam Nujoma). I therefore thought to myself that maybe it’s better if I find a different way of doing things in politics. So when I was approached by the people with the idea of forming the RDP, I took it as an opportunity.”

New Era: You were quite popular in Swapo. What was the key catalyst of your defeat at the Swapo Extraordinary Congress of 2004?

HH: “Was it not clear to everybody that there was a power that be which was determined to have things its way? Pohamba was the candidate of the President who was then setting the agenda. He made sure that Pohamba won. We were in that congress the whole night and certainly things came out the way the power that be wanted it to.”

New Era: You enjoyed a cordial relationship with former President Dr Sam Nujoma. You don’t seem to like each other anymore

HH: “The then president has his own preferences and his own candidate. He was determined to ensure that his candidate won. And that’s exactly what happened. I don’t think he liked the audacity that I knew who his choice was but I still accepted the nomination when it came. But I wasn’t the only one. We were two. Nahas Angula was also there and he stood. First of all, the leadership of Swapo decided that the candidates would not be picked and chosen by one person. The choice had to be made by the entire party leadership and whoever comes out would be a candidate. But clearly the former president was determined to have it his way for reasons only known to himself. He was particularly not comfortable with me. He was comfortable with me as his boy that was always travelling with him around the world and writing speeches but he was not comfortable with me as his successor. He wanted to ensure that when he leaves, everything would be to his own liking. We were two different people and I was not a replica of him. He probably did not trust that I would agree to everything that he would propose.”

New Era: Are you suggesting that the former president chose the people he can control? Are you saying he controls the current president?

HH: “I wouldn’t use the word ‘control’. He wanted someone who agrees with him in most instances. He felt he needed somebody that he is at peace with.”

New Era: The RDP performed below the expectations of many in the 2009 elections. What went wrong?

HH: “Well, we still have a pending court case and are still waiting for the judgment. We are saying the elections were rigged and manipulated. We still maintain that. And when you have rigging having to do with those in power, you cannot expect the other parties to do well. So in our judgment, that’s really what happened.”

New Era: Many people both in the ruling and opposition circles charge that the RDP is a tribal party

HH: “I don’t know what they mean by saying we are a tribal party. When I came in this room I found you with the vice-president (Steve Bezuidenhoudt) and he’s not my tribesman. He’s not the only one.”

New Era: Could that be based on the fact that those that formed your party’s parliamentary list were mainly from your own tribe?

HH: “The vice-president is not from my tribe. The secretary-general is not from my tribe neither is the deputy secretary-general. The party has two whites in parliament and those too are not from my tribe. We are eight in parliament and four of us are not from the same tribe. It therefore won’t be correct to say we are a tribal party.”

New Era: What has been the RDP’s highlight since the party’s formation in 2007?

HH: “Well, we think that there was a reaction from the formation of the RDP. There was fear from the ruling party. The ruling party carried out extensive rigging because of fear. The reaction wasn’t always positive. There was always intimidation in the form of people being threatened that they would lose their jobs, etc. There were reactions about some of the things we said. The Swapo machinery tried to do things better and correct them in time for elections. There was a concern about the activities of the RDP that’s why we were called ‘Satan’ and all sorts of names. This was a reaction of an organization that was scared.”

New Era: What’s your take on the way the 2010 regional and local authority elections were conducted?

HH: “There were fever acts of intimidation compared to the 2009 elections. But we still believe that there were acts of rigging except that this was done in a different way. The campaigns took a lot of money and our competitor has a lot of money compared to us. We believe that most of the money that went into the campaigns of our opponents was public money. They have access and control over the coffers of the State. Surely they must have put their hands in the till where public money is. You just have to look at the extent of their mobility. They were all over. Whether they traveled with the presidential jet or by cars. “

New Era: But Swapo has a big business empire that can fund the party’s operations. Why would you think the money is from State coffers?

HH: “You are right that they can claim that but clearly they cannot deny that the presidential jet was campaigning in places like Caprivi and Kavango. Unless somebody is prepared to tell us that when that jet was flying, somebody was paying for it other than the State.”‘

New Era: The RDP performed quite dismally in the 2010 elections, winning control of only one constituency. Is that confirmation that the RDP is really not a threat to Swapo?

HH: “We did fairly well. We did well across the country and that’s why we contend that we are not a tribal party. Yes, it’s true that we did well in well-concentrated places but we won 49 seats at local councils. Our strategy is that we would not focus on specific constituencies. No party comes closer to what we did, apart from Swapo from who apart from cheating also have resources at their disposal.”

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