The United Democratic Front’s (UDF) new leadership says it is yet to decide whether to follow the advice of its outgoing president for party supporters to vote for Swapo’s Hage Geingob in next year’s presidential election.
Earlier this year, former party leader Chief Justus //Garoëb urged all Damara-speaking Namibians, including those in the UDF, to rally their support behind Geingob because the Prime Minister “is a Damara”. The outgoing party president is also the paramount chief of the Damara tribe.
In a remark that drew widespread condemnation, //Garoëb said: “We [UDF] decided to support Hage [Geingob] because he is a Damara. The Owambos have been leading this country for very long.
“It is time for another tribe. This country belongs to all Namibians and not to the Owambos alone.”
At the time, newly elected party vice-president (then secretary-general) Dudu Murorua distanced the party from //Garoëb’s call, saying UDF members will not vote for Geingob.
However, yesterday, Murorua sang a totally different tune when asked if the party will uphold that decision. “We have not decided yet. We still have to meet and take a resolution on that matter,” Murorua said.
The remark by the Damara chief caught the attention of Geingob himself, who said Damaras should vote for him because they believe in his ability to deliver and not because he is one of them.
Geingob made the comment during an interview on the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation’s ‘Prime Minister’s Question Time’.
The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) also joined the debate and told //Garoëb “to keep his tribal votes”. “We condemn the irresponsible utterances from UDF... The message to them is: UDF, keep your tribal votes,” said SPYL leader Elijah Ngurare.
“Swapo Party does not and will never need it,” he told a gathering in the One Nation informal settlement of the Moses //Garoëb Constituency.
“In the same vein, we must reject any politician, whether from within or without Swapo Party, whose only religion is tribalism,” Ngurare added.
Last weekend at an elective congress held at Khorixas in the Kunene Region, // Garoëb was replaced by Apius !Auxab as party president. This was confirmed by Murorua, who said //Garoëb had retired. //Garoëb had led the UDF since its formation in 1989.
The party has maintained a presence in parliament, largely because of its support base in the Erongo and Kunene regions. //Garoëb started out in tribal politics in 1971 as a member of the Damara Council (DC) and in 1977 Garoëb took over as chairperson of the DC.
In 1980 //Garoëb set up the DC as a political party, and founded the UDF nine years later.
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