PDM, Swapo in Opuwo Rural poll conundrum
When the late Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) Opuwo Rural Constituency councillor Uarikua Kakuva died in April, the man who replaced him on the PDM ticket was a card-carrying member of the ruling Swapo Party, it has surfaced. According to available information, Melchizedek ‘Western’ Muharukua, who is contesting as PDM’s candidate for the upcoming by-elections scheduled for 2 July 2021, is yet to officially tender his resignation from the ruling party.
“He was a member of our party. But our constitution is clear that if a member is contesting in an election against a chosen Swapo candidate while representing another party, that person immediately excommunicates him or herself,” the Kunene region’s Swapo coordinator Tuarungua Kavari stressed.
In a media statement issued last week, Swapo reiterated “Muharukua has been our member in good standing since he is in possession of a Swapo membership card, and paid membership fees from 2013 till 2022.” Kavari provided bank deposit slips and a membership card to support the claims.
Meanwhile, Muharukua’s sudden rise to popularity within PDM circles in Kunene has placed the PDM’s vetting processes under the microscope. Talk is rife within the party that without watertight selection criteria in place for political office-bearers, the official opposition is exposed to infiltration by adversaries. As things stand, insiders feel an individual can quit their political party, join the PDM at any time, compete for internal elections and be elected into office ahead
of bona fide members.
Approached for comment, Muharukua denied any ties linking him to Swapo.
He accused Swapo of engineering a smear campaign to tarnish his image and therefore diminish his chances at the polls, and further claimed to have “been a member of the PDM since 1994”.
On Monday, PDM secretary general (SG) Manuel Ngaringombe said what appears to be an entanglement between Swapo and the PDM is water under the bridge. Asked when Muharukua joined PDM, Ngaringombe was evasive.
“If he was a Swapo member, then it’s Swapo’s loss. But currently, there is no proof that he was. What Swapo is doing is just the last kicks of a dying horse,” he said before asking PDM members in that constituency to rally
behind their candidate.
The SG also refuted claims that Muharukua’s ascent to the ballot was questionable.
“He was elected, and not appointed. He bypassed no procedure,” Ngaringombe stated.
Asked if the PDM had the necessary mechanisms in place for protection from infiltration, Ngaringombe was baffled.
“Who are these people? Are they from Angola or DRC? This party is open for all Namibians,” he said. He added that in the PDM, it does not matter when an individual joins the party. What matters is what they bring to the table in terms of serving Namibians.
However, the PDM is tightening the noose on its shortcomings as far as its screening of candidates is concerned, said Ngaringombe.