I’ve Got A Feeling It’s Over Between Ithana And Geingob

ONE of Gregory Abbott’s most well-known songs is entitled ‘I Got The Feelin’ (It’s Over)’ and he sings about the “funny feelin’” he had that his relationship with a girl was on the rocks.

I got the same impression over the past couple of days about the relationship (not love, but camaraderie) between Swapo secretary general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and the party’s vice president Hage Geingob.
The two were close allies for years and many regarded Ithana as a protegee of the former Prime Minister.
In fact, her support for Geingob was tested to the limits in 2002 when he refused to accept a lesser position of Local Government Minister and was frozen out by former President Sam Nujoma. Both were prominent figures in the party’s inner circles as Prime Minister and the country’s first female Attorney General respectively.
Geingob’s differences with Nujoma resulted in him plummeting in the party top structure and within a month he failed to be re-elected to the Politburo. The same congress also rejected Ithana to an extent that she was placed 23rd in the election for the Central Committee seats. Worst was when she failed to make it to the Swapo Party Women’s Council executive committee, of which she was an almost automatic choice for many years.
Reading the latest reports about the feud between Ithana and Sport Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo, you get the impression (and “funny feelin’” as Abbott put it) that she is on a very clear mission to become president of Swapo at all costs – even if it means pushing Geingob out of the way.
I know that Ithana has rejected claims that she was on a collision course with Kazenambo (better known as KK) and that she attempted to get him fired because of a remark he made about prostitution.
But I believe the news report that appeared in a weekly newspaper.
First, Swapo has the tendency to deny such sensitive stories very quickly if they are not 100 per cent true- which the party’s top structure did not do for days.
Secondly, the story was broken by a newspaper whose top structures are known to be close to both Geingob and Ithana. As a result, they would not have reported on the issue unless they were ‘dead sure’.
I believe Ithana’s attempt to get KK fired as a minister was not provoked by the statement about prostitution. It had all to do with his previous statement about wanting a non-Owambo Swapo president.
He is a known Geingob supporter. In fact he is one of the main proponents for his presidency.
And because there is the illusion that Ithana is very powerful in the party, she tried to push for KK’s demise at the top-four level.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she had not also tried to use other party instruments, such as the Youth League, Women’s League and Elders’ Council before attempting at it at the highest level.
The fact that KK didn’t even get a rebuke from the President tells it all.
Ithana has shown that she does not have the authority to dictate appointments or dismissals and that she is just another minister.
In fact, KK’s political resilience was boosted in the process.
But what is more harmful to Ithana is that she has not only disclosed her presidential ambitions very early (something that is not advisable in Swapo) but also possibly isolated herself in the process.
While already dealing with the undeclared ‘cold war’ with Jerry Ekandjo from the same Omusati-clique stable, Ithana has added more enemies by isolating herself from those who supported her through Geingob.
Ekandjo must be having a good laugh!
Ithana can also not expect any favour from the Ndonga group in the party, who want Nahas Angula as the party’s next president.
The end result is that her actions might lead to a complete realignment of allies and powers within the party while, in the broader scheme of things, I have the feelin’ it’s over between her and Geingob.