Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The ministry of international relations and trade (MIRT) has dismissed claims by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) that the party’s leader, Panduleni Itula, was excluded from official events during the recent visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement issued on Thursday, MIRT said Itula was formally invited to attend a state luncheon hosted in Modi’s honour.
The ministry called the IPC’s accusations “false” and “misleading”.
“The Leader of the Opposition Party was invited to the luncheon hosted in honour of His Excellency Narendra Modi. The invitations to both the Leader of the Official Opposition and that of the Mayor of Windhoek, who serves on an IPC ticket, were signed off and collected by IPC members,” said Penda Naanda, executive director of MIRT.
Naanda was responding to an IPC statement released last week, which alleged that the government had deliberately excluded the official opposition from Modi-related events.
IPC described the move as undemocratic and an insult to the votes of nearly 300,000 Namibians.
“This is not democracy. This is the behaviour of a party that mistakes temporary power for permanent ownership of the state,” said Itula.
MIRT clarified that all official events followed established diplomatic protocol.
The ministry explained that the official talks between Modi and President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah were attended only by Cabinet members and not opposition leaders or backbenchers.
“Official talks are held between two states and not with opposition parties. The 11h00 programme is the Official Talks, which are attended by Cabinet Ministers only, and allegations that backbenchers were invited are devoid of any truth,” Naanda stated.
MIRT also confirmed that a WhatsApp exchange between a ministry official and the IPC’s parliamentary assistant shows acknowledgement and acceptance of the luncheon invitation.
A screenshot seen by the Windhoek Observer shows the IPC being informed to collect the invitation from MIRCO headquarters. IPC later replied, “Good morning, Mam. I hereby confirm the attendance of Dr Panduleni Itula to the invitation to the State House on the occasion of the State Visit.”
The invitation, signed by Nandi-Ndaitwah, clearly indicated that it was for the official luncheon on 9 July at 13h00 and was “not transferable”.
Naanda said any suggestion that only the IPC mayor of Windhoek was invited while the Leader of the Official Opposition was not “borders on being ludicrous”.
“Any insinuation that an invitation would be issued to the mayor while the same is not accorded to the leader of the official opposition party does not make sense,” he said.
He reiterated that MIRT respects opposition leaders and operates within established protocol.
Meanwhile, IPC continues to push for legal reforms to define the role of the leader of the opposition, stating that the position currently exists “in name but not in law.”
The state luncheon was attended by senior leaders, diplomats, and invited dignitaries.
