Sir,

Allow me to express myself on the elections fever. For some of us life goes on as usual after elections, as long as they are free and fair.

The political violence and intolerance worries me if some of us will be alive after elections. Political parties are there to stay. We grow old, die and future generations take over. But note: they will hear/read what we are saying today. They will question our silence. If I loved to hate, they will do the same too.
Now, I hear people are trying to unconvincingly make some political arguments. It is their inherent, democratic right but the truth must be told no matter how painful it is.
Some people argue: “If Swapo is really a failure then, RDP is a failure. If Swapo has been rigging elections, (Jesaya) Nyamu and HH (Hidipo Hamutenya) were also part of it. If Swapo takes bribes, HH and Nyamu are a part of it since they just left and claim Swapo has been doing that for years...” Ok, for arguments’ sake: Nyamu and HH are corrupt. Fine!
If I leave my gun in the open at home and my child plays with it and shoots her/himself, who will be the main suspect? It will be me, the owner of a gun which was supposed to be in a safe. I, as a parent, have also a responsibility as a supervisor-even if, say, the child picked that gun from the field. In Government; a leader has vicarious responsibility.
If I hike a taxi that is over-speeding and the traffic police catch us in the act, who will be fined? Why?
During their stay in Swapo Party, Nyamu and HH, Pohamba (Hifikepunye) and Nujoma (Dr Sam), who were corrupt? Who was having the command responsibility/supervision? Who has been/was/is driving? Nujoma has driven. Pohamba is driving. OK, who can be corrupt and corrupted? What have they done to rectify the situation? Is there any of them who has applied a doctrine of ‘shape up or ship out’? Yes, the argument as quoted above says,” that (Nyamu and HH) just defected sometimes back...” Are Nyamu and HH a justification or a ticket to continue lacking the political will to fight corruption and do away with the suspicion of rigging elections by applying the UN, AU and SADC elections principles? Is this the good reason why the Swapo Party President is saying; “don’t vote for change, vote for continuity”?
Let us be practical here: a person, who decides to tell the truth to the Police about he/she was part of those who are suspected of committing a crime becomes a witness, isn’t it? Then Nyamu and HH are the nation’s witnesses on the alleged Swapo Party’s ‘highly corrupt Government’.
We need them to be empowered to testify to the public as to what was happening in there, especially when there is no one in Swapo Party who is willing to testify/say a word on rigging elections and corruption. For good reasons, Nyamu and HH have left, made statements like, “We need change now...If you give us power and we cannot deliver, kick us out!”
Finally, I welcome the SADC observers who arrived this week for making sure the elections are genuine.
I hope they will not repeat the same blunder made in Zimbabwe. They have to call a spade a spade.
We are already facing a challenge of an incomplete voter’s roll and Namibia Broadcasting Corporation that is heavily biased against opposition parties and favouring the Swapo Party.
The recent call by SPYL and NUNW for axing of the Namibian Ambassador to New York shows there is no genuine love for elections, never mind democracy.
 I believe that the said fellows were also observing the Angolan elections and this is what I picked up from there, “In Angola, today, people are afraid even of listening, fearing that they may hear something that may compromise them.
 It is through fear that the MPLA regime instrumentalises everyone and keeps people hostage. Everyone is afraid to publicly declare his political affiliation because doing so may lead to loss of life”, said Isaias Samakuva, UNITA President.
If the SADC team did not detect that in Angola, how will they do it in the Namibian environment?

M. Nagula
Oniihandhila
Omuntele Constituency