THE recent spat between Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) leaders Elijah Ngurare and Armas Amukwiyu over Ngurare’s weekend visit to Omuthiya points to continued tension over the presidential succession issue that keeps on cropping up in the wing’s affairs.
Ngurare said Amukwiyu’s criticism over the visit is only because of the “campaigning” for presidential candidates, and this despite calls from the Swapo leadership to put a lid on the matter at least until the party’s 2012 congress.
The Swapo Party Oshikoto regional coordinator castigated Ngurare for having visited the area without informing the regional leadership first.
Ngurare maintained that he had not gone on Swapo Party business, but went through an invitation by the Ministry of Education for the Omuthiya cluster entrepreneur day.
“What is so special about Oshikoto if it is not about campaigning?” asked Ngurare.
“It was a pure educational matter. Amukwiyu has nothing to do with the activities of the Ministry of Education,” said Ngurare, but added that as secretary of the youth wing his constituency stretches over the entire country.
“That’s nonsense,” hit back Amukwiyu at Ngurare’s suggestion that his taking issue with the visit was due to the succession ‘campaigning’.
“Where does the issue of campaigning come from? He must not shy away from the fact that he was wrong. Why should the issue of succession come in?”
Ngurare said he had informed Minister Abraham Iyambo that he accepted an invitation to the event, saying that the Minister was higher up in the ruling party hierarchy than Amukwiyu.
“Who is the most senior here?” he emphasised, and said: “We must be sensitive about the separation of ministerial and party activities.”
He added that this was a “non-issue”.
“The main issue is that students came up with fantastic ideas which we must support.”
Ngurare also questioned if Amukwiyu informs the Swapo head office or regional offices when he visits the Khomas Region.
Ngurare and Amukwiyu apparently buried the hatchet for the unity of the youth wing at the last SPYL Central Committee meeting in May.
The two took great pains to show a united front for the sake of moving ahead with the wing’s activities.
But it is known that each of these leaders back different presidential hopefuls: Ngurare is said to be a supporter of Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana’s run for this position.
Amukwiyu is said to be backing Hage Geingob’s campaign for the presidential position.
Under Ngurare the youth wing also suspended the deputy secretary Jutta Shikomba after she, among others, visited the Kavango region without informing the leadership.
Those who suspended her argued that she should have informed the local structures in Kavango before visiting the region, even if it was private business as she claimed.