Chris-Jacobie Flipside
IT is unfortunate that the adjournment of the National Assembly until next month was the missed opportunity to torpedo the two Ekandjo Bills on same sex issues and to expose political convenience.
The Ekandjo Bills exposed the hypocrisy of opposition political parties that campaign against the “dangers” of a two-thirds majority for the ruling Swapo party, but then give Swapo the majority, even if they did not need it or ask for it.
Unfortunately, the Ekandjo-bills landed him in the grindstone of unresolved leadership struggles since 2012, which were amplified by the death of the late Swapo President, Dr Hage Geingob.
The Ekandjo-bills should have never been allowed to be tabled and should have been declared dead before arrival by the very same parliamentarians who opportunistically allowed Ekandjo, without a voting right in parliament and in the Swapo-leadership structures, to introduce fundamental challenges to the constitution.
It cannot be right and is even absurd that a lawmaker with the stature of Jerry Ekandjo can introduce laws that they themselves cannot vote for.
Political opportunism of the worst kind is confirmed by the fact that Swapo, without ever using its two-thirds majority, found unanimous support from opposition parties for the ill-conceived Ekandjo bills, but ask Namibians to vote for them to prevent the ruling party from having a two-thirds majority.
The Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab, was also rendered mute, because she also has no vote as an appointee, while she was targeted for humiliation, but to her credit handled it with dignity.
It is worth remembering that Ekandjo had unsuccessfully challenged the position of the Swapo Vice- presidency since 2012 and threatened legal action in the last congress after he was soundly defeated.
It does not take a very fertile imagination to believe that the insistence on a special congress is part of an ongoing attempt to replace Nandi-Ndaitwah as presidential candidate.
The Ekandjo-bills on same sex-issues, perhaps well-intentioned, became political cannon fodder and caught everyday Namibians in the crossfire. Outside of the plush parliamentarian seats and thick carpeting 999 Namibians out of a thousand will say will say they are not bothered by sexual orientation of any Namibian.
The efforts to politically weaponize the Ekandjo Bills should rebel against every democratic instinct of every Namibian.
It is even worse that the Fourth President, Dr Nangolo Mbumba, is put under pressure from minorities from the ultra-conservative right and the ultra-liberal left to sign a bill that should have not been tabled in the way it was tabled.
The Fourth President and the reasonable, tolerant majority are insulted into submission by nameless and shameless social media addicts.
It is a fake reality of fake media and self-appointed guards on the walls of Jericho of activism, that is doing more harm than good, by introducing and promoting the false narrative that Namibians are divided on same-sex challenges.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
The reality of Namibia is different and the assumption is wrong.
The controversy that politicians are fuelling is not reality in the streets, in taxi’s and at workplaces of Namibia at all. As close as it can get to 100%, Namibians reject the weaponizing of sexual orientation. They are in general very protective of their privacy, because of being deprived from it, by successive occupiers.
The less than a handful – from both sides – that want to raise it to a national issue, are on cell phone screens and don’t see the rest of the country.
The self-appointed political infected policemen of every orientation should stop and pause and address Namibian issues and should not be fuelled by fundamentalists- on all sides through non-governmental organisations, that search for an opportunity to interfere in Namibia’s politics.
They are in it for the money.
It’s an abuse of Namibian hospitality and tolerance that is still a- work-in progress after 35-years.
Elections are not about finding common enemies in tribes, colour or sexual orientation, but about finding common understanding to promote inclusiveness and unity amidst the differences.
The spectacle of difference is the kaleidoscope of wonder and beauty.
Namibians adopted a unique constitution where the preamble lists the qualities of Namibians as tolerant, free, just and cognizant of the dignity of fellow Namibians.
The Ekandjo bills should not be signed into law for various reasons and hopefully will finally be rejected, when common sense prevails.
There is hardly a more respected and loved elder statesman than Jerry Ekandjo and it will be a shame if his image is tarnished by himself, in what can only be termed as political opportunistic relying on deep fault lines within the Swapo-leadership.
By whatever the name it is called, it is opportunism at best and bullying at worst and no man worth the title should stand by when any Namibian is targeted and demonized by nameless and shameless smear media.
When Jerry Ekandjo as Member of Parliament cannot vote for his bill nobody else should be able to.
That is not Namibia and it is not democracy.
Namibians need steady hands to steer the ship towards nation building.
They earned it.
