By Steven Mvula*

It is said that: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men and women do nothing”. And for too long in our country, many good men and women have remained silent in the face of Swapo Party disinformation, misinformation, rumor-mongering, lies and the betrayal of public trust. Enough is enough!

This week, Swapo Party propagandists are at it again, doing what they can do best: feeding their often gullible and or frightened supporters and sympathizers with poisonous myths, half-truths, malicious rumors and outright lies. It is my (and your) patriotic duty to once again dismantle the Swapo Party propaganda - one point at a time.

Swapo Party Says: In THE SPOTLIGHT this time is: “Hidipo Hamutenya, Jesaya Nyamu, Gwen Lister, John Grobler, Henning Melber, Alfredo Hengari, Phil [ya Nangoloh], Max Hamata, Steven Mvula, Kaseven [Aipinge], Ndapwa Alweendo etc all Vs. SWAPO Party”. In the run up to the 2009 Presidential and National Assembly Elections the socio-political clowns listed above worked separately but had a common agenda against the SWAPO Party.

My Refutation: They have three things in common: 1) they are all Namibians; 2) they promote and defend our democracy and; 3) they reveal to the public things that the Swapo Party would prefer to sweep under the carpet. That includes - but not limited to - the embarrassing Chinese bursaries, human rights abuses and the rigging of elections. If exposing the above maladies is tantamount to being anti-Swapo Party, then so be it!

Swapo Party Says: Their common denominator is the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), which they loved and had wished for it to win so desperately that Phil [ya Nangoloh] and his political concubines the likes of Steven Mvula and Kaseven [Aipinge] deployed over 180 so-called human rights monitors on a house-to-house campaign to the northern regions.

My Refutation: Really? Did the Swapo Party propagandists consult a misleading sangoma somewhere in Zimbabwe or how did they arrive at the number of “180 so-called human rights monitors”? We were most recently told that ya Nangoloh’s organization was not even able to pay the salaries of less than 50 employees, yet apparently it could afford to deploy and pay 180 monitors in the northern regions alone. Something somewhere does not add up.

Swapo Party Says: Their mission was subversively designed to cause chaos and mayhem, to say the least, and most to provoke SWAPO members into acts of retaliation, which would render the election process questionable.

My Refutation: This is clearly a case of a culprit passing the blame on his and her victim. We all know who the culprits were. Even Joel Kaapanda (a Swapo Party minister) could no longer withstand the weight of facts and had to admit publicly and condemn the Swapo Party supporters for their violent behavior during the campaign. But the Swapo Party propagandists – like the famous three monkeys - see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

Swapo Party Says: At a SWAPO Rally in Oshakati one of the defectors from RDP revealed part of “this campaign”, including giving promises of tractors for each village in exchange for voting for RDP. In his own words, “These were lies”.

My Refutation: Well, that said, the defector has mercilessly and shamelessly destroyed his own credibility. If he had told lies on behalf of RDP, then there is no guarantee he is not now telling lies on behalf of the Swapo Party either. He is a liar, by his own admittance?!

Swapo Party Says: Hidipo Hamutenya and Jesaya Nyamu, on their part were to manage the illusion that RDP has a database of 390 000. This lie was possibly used to get money from their sponsors in America, Britain, and Germany and in the Scandinavian countries.

My Refutation: That only shows Swapo Party agents’ obsession with money. Every thing must have something to do with getting money, money and more money. No wonder the “Swapo Party Government” is riddled with money scandals – from AVID to ODC; from GIPF to the NDF and from Teko to Chinese bursaries – the list is endless.

And yes, in many cases, some clever Swapo Party crooks can inflate numbers to get money. Here are some concrete facts: In the 1980’s SWAPO of Namibia claimed to have 80 000 Namibian refugees in camps under its supervision, but when it became time to close the camps and bring the refugees home, only 41 000 could be traced. In other words, SWAPO cheated the international community that it was providing humanitarian assistance for 80 000 refugees, while there was in fact only 41 000 refugees (some were not even in SWAPO camps but were working mostly in the Namibe and Benguela fisheries industry of Angola or staying with friends and relatives in other neighboring countries).

That is the sweet truth Swapo Party propagandists will always try to withhold from you.

Swapo Party Says: Jesaya Nyamu even went public that the RDP had hibernators in various institutions of the “SWAPO Party Government” including the State House, a preposterous and idiotic revelation by a person of his stature.

My Refutation: That is a naked distortion of facts. Distortion is the worst sin a writer can commit. Jesaya Nyamu did not mention “hibernators”. He simply said “the RDP is everywhere, even in the State House” - full stop.

The election results have proven him right, I think. RDP got votes even from the so-called “no-go-areas” of Omusati Region, New York, Cape Town, Moscow, etc. In Windhoek East Constituency (where the new State House is situated) RDP got 4 842 votes - Nyamu was right after all!

Swapo Party Says: Gwen Lister did not question this lunacy, she went ahead to publish these figures.

My Refutation: That is exactly what is expected of good and ethical journalists. Their duty is not to question, but to truthfully reflect what was said. Even NBC and New Era published the so-called “lunacy”, yet the Swapo Party spin doctors’ minds are so pre-programmed that they can see “evil things” only in Gwen Lister’s newspaper.

By the way, how else should the propagandists have gotten that piece of news had the media decided to suppress it?

Swapo Party Says: Don’t forget that she even published the RDP propaganda that it won 3900 votes against 2 votes to SWAPO in Ohalushu.

My Refutation: It is possible that the blunder was caused by gullibility. I just hope someone was disciplined (or even fired) because of that error. But I don’t think that was done deliberately. That was most probably a case of sloppy gate-keeping (Ben Mulongeni would know better what that means). And if all mistakes by individual journalists have to be blamed on the editor, then, in the likely manner, all mistakes by government officials have to be blamed on the President. That is the only consistent way of handling things.

Swapo Party Says: Gwen Lister’s calculation in publishing this lie was for the reason that she wanted RDP to win.

My Refutation: And, if that is the case, she was apparently not alone. More than 90 000 other Namibians also wanted the RDP to win. Nor is that a crime to wish victory to one of the participating parties.

Namibians have not only spoken through the ballot box, but also taught Swapo Party a lesson in a hard way that “all power vest in the people of Namibia”. The Namibians have the power to return Hidipo Hamutenya (HH) and his supporters back into Government structures. And they have done just that, even by Swapo Party’s own tainted elections results. Yes, I know that those who wanted to transform Namibia into a one-party, classless society based on the principles of scientific socialism, are still bitter and restless, but they will have to swallow their pride, if any, and accept democracy. In a democracy, like ours, the majority rules without suppressing or silencing the minority.

Swapo Party Says: Also in the so-called stand-off at Outapi, remember [Gwen Lister] put front-page the alleged weapons confiscated from both “RDP and SWAPO” members and in particular [that] there was a ‘bazooka’ in the picture.

My Refutation: It seems Swapo Party propagandists are reading a different The Namibian or they are just making up stories, as usual. On November 11 and under the headline “7 arrested over Outapi violence” the weapons were identified as “11 knobkieries; 7 knives; 2 traditional knives; 5 pangas; sticks; one licensed pistol.” No mention of a “bazooka” there.

And on November 12 there was a front page picture showing an assortment of “dangerous weapons”, under the headline “Election war machine” and the following caption: “Weapons that the Namibian Police confiscated from both Swapo and RDP supporters at Outapi on Sunday, following violent confrontations between the two groups. The weapons were photographed at the Outapi Police Station yesterday. Omusati Police commander, Deputy Commissioner Simion Shindinge, has confirmed to The Namibian that two police officers, warrant officer Nangolo, the commander of the Onesi police station, and constable Iiyambo of the Outapi police station, were injured by flying stones in the line of duty. They were treated at the Outapi State Hospital.” No “bazooka” mentioned here. Once again it seems the Swapo Party propagandists relied on a divination of a fake sangoma for their “bazooka” story.

Swapo Party Says: The truth as was exposed by Cde. [Jhonny] Hakaye, the bazooka in the picture was a toy gun. But Gwen Lister never bothered to correct that lie.

My Refutation: Maybe because that “lie” existed only in the Swapo Party propagandist’s rotten mind.

Swapo Party Says: Henning Melber and Alfredo Hengari were amongst the worst academic bats prior to the just ended elections. They tried hard in Gwen Lister’s paper to twist facts and cooked the truth in order to influence the potential voters in abandoning SWAPO Party.

My Refutation: Yet the guy doesn’t even try to give a single example of twisted facts or cooked truth. Why? Because there is none! What he and or she has given us is the fossilized, vocabulary of the apartheid past for calling others “bats”, which has the same connotation as “baboons, ******s, cockroaches, etc.” This is an apartheid syndrome.

Swapo Party Says: As if these were not enough, Gwen Lister used an intern working for her paper, Ndapwa Alweendo, to influence the born-frees. Gwen Lister put Ndapwa’s article just next to the SMS page because she wanted most of her readers not miss it.

My Refutation: That goes to confirm that the SMS page is so popular that any thing placed on it can’t be missed. Why then do Swapo Party leaders continually complain about the SMS-es that are so popular? Why read The Namibian anyway? I thought on their hateful website Swapo Party propagandists have advocated for the banning and or boycotting of The Namibian!

Swapo Party Says: And then just after it appeared, Gwen Lister ensured that only SMS-es praising Ndapwa Alweendo was published. Actually members of SWAPO Party sent many SMS-es reacting to the stupidity of Ndapwa Alweendo, a daughter of Tom Alweendo, Governor of Bank of Namibia, but these messages were obviously not published.

My Refutation: That is a revelation! The guy is in fact saying that he or she is the one who coordinate, censor, edit and track all the SMS-es sent by Swapo Party members to The Namibian […] and is frustrated because some of the SMS-es are never published in the banned but still their much-hated newspaper. These writings are similar to that of the now defunct anonymous writer, Ananias Nghifitikeko.

Swapo Party Says: So it is to be expected that they would publish lies and propaganda of a former Koevoet’s kith and kin like John Grobler […]. Perhaps Grobler need to enlighten the Namibian people on the “secret” trip by Hidipo Hamutenya to just a day after the election results?

My Refutation: There is a saying in Oshiwambo vernacular that: “Oidano yomalai ka i nyakula, oto papala eshi e li dula mondabo [to put it into Namlish: Don’t expect to be impressed the fools’ performance as you might be surprised by the foolish turn of event”]. Can Swapo Party trust Grobler whom it accuses of being an “unrepentant Koevoet operative”? The fellows in that Party seem not to consult each other when reacting emotionally. On the one hand, Swapo Party believes there was a “secret trip of Hidipo Hamutenya to Germany”, on the other hand, the Swapo Party’s mouthpiece, Namibia Today (on December 11 2009) carried a prominently story, written by one Asser Ntinda that cried: “The President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress, RDP, has been in Germany this whole week undergoing medical treatment, following the shock result of the National Assembly and Presidential elections in which RDP dismally failed to dent SWAPO Party’s national popularity in both elections.”

This confirms my most fear as expressed in my previous ‘refutations’ on December 8 2009, titled: ‘Swapo Party’s Post-election Political fallacies’, that Swapo Party “persistently and consistently resort[ing] to fallacious arguments that, when challenged, disintegrate in less than one minute”. It also substantiates what Catholic Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said, that, “The truth is the truth even if nobody believes in it and a lie is a lie, even if everybody believes it”. To them, when you are telling the truth or you dare to differ with them, you are either a pathological or habitual liar (sick) if not an enemy.

What these funny but dishonest people don’t tell you is that the “Comrades” Peter Tsheehama “Tshirumbu”, Jackson Kaujeua and Hompa Angelina Ribebe are in sick-bed and they need your moral and financial support. Or, don’t they see any political reason behind their real life-threatening illnesses?

Can the public also emulate the logic to think and argue the same way that late Theofelus Eiseb died-during the counting process- apparently due to a shocking demotion after he was relegated from being an Otjozondjupa Governor to an ordinary Councilor for Okahandja Constituency?

Swapo Party Says: I addition, politically motivated stories, such as the Chinese bursaries and the new fleet for his Excellency the President were leaked to him by fellow RDP supporters in the Government. At least we know now who leaked these stories to Max Hamata […] the link between Max Hamata and Phil ya [Nangoloh] has also been established with the hallucination of an alleged hit-list for the duo”.

My Refutation: Were the Chinese bursaries and new Presidential fleet scandals the Party’s “top secret”?

Can Minister of Safety and Security, Dr. Nickey Iyambo, hear this, that Swapo Party had long known the ‘wanted’ sources “who leaked stories to Max Hamata”? Minister Iyambo has just told the public through a Press Release of December 11 2009 that, “Allegations mentioned in the said article [Max Hamata on Intelligence Hit List: Informante and NSHR’s Press Release of December 10 2009] are a serious security concern […]The Namibian Police Force does not have any information about the allegations”. There are only two scenarios here for Dr. Iyambo, namely:

1. The good Minister is either the last person to receive the ‘security briefings’ from his “officers” after they, first, briefed the shebeen patrons and, second, the Swapo Party.

2. Dr. Iyambo’s request to ya Nangoloh and Hamata to reveal their sources is known as a fallacy of making “unreasonable” or “false demands”. He knows too well that both ya Nangoloh and Hamata will never reveal their NCIS sources.

It is a double bind:


  • reveal your sources and endanger their careers
  • fail to reveal your sources and the Police will fail to act.

But, is Minister Iyambo really in need of sources or leads? Here is one of the tools he can use: Namibia Today newspaper, which frequently published a forged ‘picture’ of a rubbish bin overflowing with human heads, mainly of those prominent leaders in our society whom Swapo Party hates or fears the most [see: www.swapoparty.org.na/]. I’ll not buy any argument that “it is just a cartoon”. In the refuse bin are the decapitated heads of those who are collectively labeled by a clique within Swapo Party and its propaganda mouthpiece as a “gang of bats”. They are, among others, Phil ya Nangoloh, Hidipo Hamutenya, Jeremia Nambinga, Jesaya Nyamu and Kandy Nehova.

The message from that home-made but hate-motivated picture is (as it means to any person of average intelligence): “If you meet and see one of the following member of ‘gang of bats’, they are a public nuisance, their heads must immediately go into a nearby dustbin!” Lest we not forget that in the past five years, we have witnessed the gruesome murders of mutilated bodies of mostly young Namibians, some of whom were discovered in the rubbish bins and or dumped along the B1 Road. Put yourself in the position of the still mourning families that have lost their loved ones through these similar, cruel ‘cuttings’, especially when Swapo Party propagandists do not assist the Police with their magical skills of investigation-of knowing who is ‘hibernating’ where or leaked what to who.

Swapo Party Says: After suffering a comprehensive and democratic defeat, RDP and his gang of bad losers are now screaming in the wilderness of shame, claiming vote rigging and irregularities […]. This is no wonder [as] many legal practitioners have refused to take their case for lack of sufficient grounds upon which the case is launched.

My Refutation: As a citizen who has a full confidence in the independence and impartiality of our Judiciary, it is said that “actions speak louder than words”. What the readers and all the honest Namibians should do-and also advise others to do-is to keenly follow or go to the High Court in Windhoek on Friday morning (18/12/2009) and find out for themselves whether or not there is a case against ECN, Swapo Party and others. If there is no case, then, ECN and Swapo Party will not waste their resources; time, fuel, papers and money to pay the lawyers. The taste of the pudding is in the eating! Therefore, let us go to Court and see who was fooling who.

* This article is written in my personal capacity, on Thursday, December 17 2009