The Fishrot scandal, which saw the country’s marine resources stolen at an industrial scale, has bruised the ruling party’s image. This is according to veteran SWAPO politician Libertina Amathila in an interview with NAMPA recently. She said at an appropriate time, when Coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols permit, those with the party’s best interest at heart will converge under one roof in a bid to rescue it from further degeneration. According to her, the former liberation movement is at the crossroads, where it must choose between individuals whose deeds placed it in a compromised position and its future. The unorthodox meeting she hinted to, will not be similar to SWAPO’s traditional central committee or political bureau gatherings. “I want this Fishrot story finished and gone because that story has destroyed our name as a party and we are not involved in these things,” she said. In choosing the right path, those implicated in illicit deals, whoever they are, must be dealt with. “Specific people are involved. Individuals are involved. Let’s deal with individuals and not involve the party. It’s not the party. They did these things on their individual basis.” In the face of challenges, Amathila is confident that SWAPO’s better days lie ahead. “I pray that this case finishes by next year latest so that we can clean up, sweep and take it from there. We are going to rebuild this party. This is a great party which liberated the country during difficult times and we are not going to throw it away,” she said. Furthermore, Amathila said the faux pas that has engulfed SWAPO is borne out of envy for the current leadership under Hage Geingob’s tutelage. “It’s not the first time that we have problems in the party, there was always somebody who wanted to take over from the present leadership, we had problems in the struggle where sometimes things happened in such a way that you didn’t even trust your own shadow,” she said. The difference, she said, is that the current party squabbles have spiralled out of control. “We were lucky to have Sam Nujoma because with him there were no stories of tribalism, Ovambos this and Hereros that. That is how we came and liberated this country because Sam’s leadership was for Namibia and all Namibians,” she said. In 2019, news broke that prominent SWAPO leaders and businessmen were involved in one of the country’s biggest corruption schemes: Fishrot. It is alleged that the funds swindled through this scheme were used to finance President Geingob and SWAPO’s campaigns, reports the president vehemently denies. Two ex-Cabinet ministers and current SWAPO central committee members Sacky Shanghala and Bernhardt Esau and other accused businessmen are behind bars awaiting trial. A glance into the different epochs of history shows that SWAPO always goes into its electoral congresses divided. However, the party always managed to navigate through the storms, retaining its relevance among the voting masses. In 2017, the party was rocked by slate politics when the Geingob-anointed ‘Team Harambee’ faced off against ‘Team SWAPO’, a conglomeration of SWAPO stalwarts including Jerry Ekandjo, Nahas Angula and Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana. The aftermath of the watershed congress saw a staunch SWAPO member at the time, Panduleni Itula, challenging Geingob for the presidency as an independent candidate. Itula came second at the polls and would go further to form the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) in 2020, another thorn in SWAPO’s flesh. Analysts who spoke to NAMPA agree that it is not a new trend for SWAPO politicians to squabble just before elections. Back in 2012, the non-Oshiwambo president mantra was mooted. Geingob emerged as the victor when he retained the position of vice president The 2007 congress was dominated by factionalism and insults which saw some members branded ‘hibernators’. It was the culmination of what had transpired in 2004. In 2007, prominent leaders among them the late Hidipo Hamutenya, Jesaya Nyamu and Kandy Nehova ditched SWAPO to form the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). In 2004, at its extra-ordinary congress, three candidates Hifikepunye Pohamba, Nahas Angula and Hamutenya squared off for the party’s top position to replace Nujoma. Angula pulled out the race mid-way through the election and paved the way for Pohamba by throwing his votes behind the former. NAMPA spoke to a political analyst Fanuel Kaapama on his take ahead of the congress who said SWAPO has struggled to deal with complications regarding the transition of power from one leader to another. “During Sam Nujoma’s last term, that congress led to factions of some people supporting late Hidipo Hamutenya, while others supported Hifikepunye Pohamba. This later birthed RDP. Now we are seeing that a faction came out early during Geingob’s first term and birthed IPC. The question really is, what would this congress give birth to or have SWAPO leaders learned anything at all from the past?” he said recently. He went on to say: “If their leaders at all levels are aware of the party’s challenges, they need to address them because if not properly handled, it will lead to the demise of the party.” As the campaigns for the party’s heart and soul begin to take shape, potential contenders' names for positions are being whispered in the corridors ahead of the 2022 showdown. For Kaapama, it is up to SWAPO to elect leaders who can unite it at this crucial hour. Another pundit, Ndumba Kamwanyah, said: "The party should look for a strong leader. Someone to unify the party, someone who is able to lead beyond the camps and works across. At the same time, it should be a leader with an understanding of our country in terms of economic challenges faced today." -NAMPA