There is no serious political formation that can be rescued by a single individual and Swapo is no exception.

This was said by Swapo Party secretary-general (SG), Sophia Shaningwa, while downplaying claims by perianal Swapo critic Phil Ya Nangolo who was quoted as saying he “wants to save Swapo”.

For Shaningwa, Swapo is not a ‘one-man show’.

“I can drop down today but Swapo party will go on. Therefore, there is no way that one can claim to come and save the party because saving the party is never a one-man task,” she said.

Swapo’s top administrator made these remarks during a press conference initially planned to welcome Ya Nangolo back into the Swapo fold on Monday.

These plans have since been put on ice, pending an unreserved apology to the party’s former president, Sam Nujoma.

“He must apologise to the founding president and the leadership before the party materials [membership card] is given to Mr Ya Nangolo,” she said.

Swapo’s welcoming of one of its fiercest rivals is a sign of “goodwill”, she said.

On the day, Shaningwa was quizzed as to why Ya Nangolo was receiving a red-carpet treatment from the party’s top leadership, so much that an event was planned to give him a hero’s welcome.

According to reports, Ya Nangolo has sensitive information that could be damaging to the Swapo brand. This, according to this holding this view, is the only logical conclusion as to why Swapo is doing so much for a man who is past his “sell-by date”.

When this was put to her, she retorted: “I do not know what he knows. The killings that you are talking about are his issues. If he has his issues, the platforms [to find recourse] are there, after he publicly apologises. I think he will be able to tell the party what his issues are.”

Ya Nangolo has over the years advocated for Swapo to be taken to task for the killings of Namibians that took place in exile.

In 2007, under his tutelage, Namrights asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Nujoma and other officials’ roles in alleged abuses during and after the country’s fight for independence.

“For now, I don’t want to speak for Phil Ya Nangolo because I don’t know the secrets that are in his heart.”

In recent memory, Swapo has welcomed its former adversaries with open arms.

This was the case when former Rally for Democracy and Progress leader, the late Hidipo Hamutenya, joined in 2015.

It was also the case when former DTA [now Popular Democratic Movement (PDM)] leader Katuutire Kaura joined the ruling party, a few years after he lost out to McHenry Venaani in a fiercely contested congress in 2014.

Former Congress of Democrats leader Ben Ulenga returned to Swapo in 2017, albeit through the back door, as there was no fanfare.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency