Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) secretary Ephraim Nekongo yesterday said the party would welcome its “prodigal son” Panduleni Itula, back if he wishes to return to Swapo.
Nekongo said this in a media statement on Wednesday.
“It is indeed cold outside Swapo, and if the prodigal son wants to return home, we call on Itula to come back to the only party trusted by the people, will indeed welcome him with open arms,” Nekongo said.
Itula, who is the leader of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), was expelled from Swapo in 2020 after he contested as an independent candidate in the run-up to the 2019 general election. He was still a Swapo member at the time.
Itula lost to president Hage Geingob, who garnered 56,3% against Itula’s 29,4%.
Nekongo’s remarks come after Itula claimed on Namibian Sun’s ‘Evening Review’ recently that procedures were not followed in declaring Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah the Swapo candidate for 2024.
The SPYL leader described Itula’s comments on internal Swapo matters as a desperate attempt to “resuscitate the dead IPC”.
He said Itula paraded himself as Swapo spokesperson because there is nothing to talk about in his party. He added that there is no ambiguity in terms of Swapo’s presidential candidate for the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“Nandi-Ndaitwah has been re-elected as vice president by the 7th ordinary congress of the Swapo party, in line with rule 37 of the Swapo party rules and procedures for election of party office bearers and party representatives at legislative and government levels,” Nekongo said.
He said Itula’s comments are not only misplaced but deceitful and misleading, aiming to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Swapo’s candidate.
Nekongo also asserted that it is not true that Itula amended the Swapo constitution in 2017.
“Such a possibility is false as his hopes of becoming the president of Namibia,” Nekongo said.
According to Nekongo, Itula lived in Britain for three decades and remembered that Namibia existed not more than five years ago. He accused Itula of spending all his youthful years building British society rather than Namibia.
“It is indeed cold outside Swapo, and if the prodigal son wants to return home, we call on Mr Itula to come back to the only party trusted by the people and will indeed welcome him with open arms,” Nekongo said.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Itula said: “Fascinating indeed, when authoritarianism becomes legislatively manipulative to self destruction in desperation”.
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