Shaningwa distances herself from the ‘sharks’
Swapo secretary general Sofia Shaningwa said she is not involved in the Fishrot corruption saga and that all her riches were acquired through legal means.
In a widely circulated video clip, Shaningwa distanced herself from the Fishrot cabal while addressing a Swapo rally at Outapi in the Omusati region on Saturday.
According to Shaningwa, had she been corrupt or corruptible, she should have accessed millions of State monies due to the senior portfolios she held over the years.
Between 2004 and 2017, she served as governor of Khomas and later as Omusati governor until her last government assignment as minister for urban and rural development. She maintained that she never used any of those positions for self-gratification.
“Today you are hearing all these fish calling me corrupt, what a shame on them. Today, I am at the headquarters of Swapo Party. They are talking a lot of things. ‘Sofia Shaningwa is corrupt’.
Apparently they wanted me to be in jail because of Fishrot,” she charged.
The ties that bind her to the Fishrot scandal appears to be a thorn in the flesh.
If anything, her interest lies in serving the people of Namibia, she advanced.
“[My interest] is not to have fishes [and] not to have millions of dollars. Millions of dollars for what? One day when I have to go down [die], I don’t go down with fishes,
neither do I go down with money,” a clearly agitated Shaningwa told the crowd.
She was not finished: “These people must stop calling Swapo a corrupt organisation.
Face the individuals, you cowards! Leave Swapo alone!” Unlike many of her peers, Shaningwa said she does not own a farm or fishing quotas. Last year, two of Shaningwa’s ex-Cabinet colleagues and Swapo comrades, Sacky Shanghala (justice)andBernard Esau (fisheries) were forced to relinquish their Cabinet positions amid allegations of corruption and money laundering in the Namibian fishing industry. It is alleged that the politicians and their cronies pocketed at least N$ 150 million in kickbacks over four years. Those accused of having masterminded the syndicate are known as ‘ sharks’ in the fishing circles. -Nampa