Secretary-General of the OvaHerero Traditional Authority, Professor Mutjinde Katjiua, has disclosed to Eagle FM that Nudo President and former chairperson of the OvaHerero Genocide Foundation, Ester Muinjangue, was scouted as early as last year to take the position of deputy minister in the ruling party government.
To make this possible, Katjiua said, former spokesperson of the OTA, Bob Kandetu, was used an agent to “lure” Muinjangue over into the Swapo government.
Kandetu, who a few days ago apologised for defaming the image of the OvaHerero Paramount Chief, Vekuii Rukoro, has refused to comment when Eagle FM called him, directing all questions to Katjiua.
“So we do not know under whose instruction he did that. It appeared that there was some sort of conniving between the administration of the government and Bob to the extent it resulted in the lady taking this job. Possibly or Bob played a double-edged knife. But the bottom line is that he did it because chief Riruako wanted to co-govern rather than being in the opposition. The issue at hand is that Muinjangue as genocide campaigner is a very important person in the management in Herero politics. Therefore Bob as an advisor to the chief should not have done these things without the chief knowing,” said Katjiua.
At the same time, Muinjangue continues to be mum about all these goings-on, telling Eagle FM this week that commenting on the issue would see more criticisms levelled against herself.
The Professor has, without equivocation, declared that Muinjangue has effectively betrayed the cause of genocide in Namibia by siding with a government that is opposed to the OvaHerero’s stance on genocide and ancestral land.
“You see, if you are a minister or in this case a deputy minister, you implement government policy and that policy is the Swapo manifesto which also says the negotiation for the genocide reparations will be between the two states, immediately if you join that camo you abandon that the Herero and Namas should be direct negotiators.
If you go to the land issue which is an equal twin question with the genocide issue, the government says ancestral land should not be entertained. That is the Swapo party position. That is the position that the former President Pohamba has taken. That is the position that the former President Nujoma took,” said Katjiua.
He said Rukoro on 24 March 2020 consulted with Muinjangue two days after Muinjangue joined the health ministry, adding that Rukoro was in the dark.
A few days ago, the OTA chief’s council also resorted to fine Rukoro’s Chief advisor on politics and governmental affairs, Arnold Tjihuiko N$12 000 worth of a cow and a heifer for bringing the name of the chief to disrepute.
He stands accused of spreading lies that Rukoro organised a meeting at his village and decided to expel Kandetu and Tjihuiko and that he got involved in a plot to expel Muinjangue from the Nudo party.
Professor Katjiua has now disclosed to Eagle FM that Tjihuiko has since resigned his post without submitting his resignation and quit the WhatsApp group of the OTA executive committee.
If Tjihuiko fails to pay the fine, the Professor suggested that he would be effectively cut off from the OvaHerero fold, as he would have automatically “disassociated himself”.