Renthia Kaimbi
The race for seats on the Walvis Bay Local Authority has taken a personal turn, with Sharon Roodt, a candidate for the Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association (JWBRA), facing questions over her military background.
Roodt has denied allegations linking her to the Koevoet counterinsurgency unit, describing the claims as a political witch-hunt aimed at discrediting her.
She confirmed that she served in the South African Defence Force (SADF) and later applied to join the Namibian Defence Force but said she was never part of Koevoet.
Koevoet was a paramilitary police unit that operated during South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia under apartheid. It became infamous for committing acts of brutality against civilians.
This comes after a video surfaced on social media showing Roodt and a group of men marching and performing military-style salutes near Dune 7.
She said the footage was from a reunion held three years ago for the 2 South African Infantry Battalion (2SAI Battalion), whose members trained in the desert and often ran up Dune 7.
“You know what, it’s just a political foofy,” Roodt said.
“It was a reunion we had three years ago, and now when we started with campaigning, these other parties brought that nonsense up again. All of this was cleared by the police. There was no underlying backstory to it,” she expressed.
She described the reunion as a fun weekend celebrating the battalion’s 60th anniversary.
“When we had that little marching session, everybody else was laughing at the oompies (uncles) with the boopies (big stomachs) and what have you,” she said.
Roodt said a political opponent had falsely accused the group of mobilising Koevoet members and importing weapons from Orania, which she called absurd.
“You did what you had to do. You served your country. You don’t serve the government; you serve your country and you protect its citizens. Everybody had a job to do at that time, regardless of which side you were on,” she said.
Roodt said she continues to receive positive feedback from voters despite what she described as attempts to undermine her campaign. She added that the JWBRA’s focus is on representing residents rather than engaging in politics.
“I’m not a politician. That’s the last thing on my mind, and to us, it’s not about power. To us, we are representing the residents, and we are working towards getting Walvis Bay back to where it was. Because at the moment, it’s a decaying town. It looks horrible; it’s dirty, with potholes and systems that don’t work.”
She urged her opponents to campaign fairly.
“I have not badmouthed one of them yet, so why are they picking on me?” she asked.
“I’m starting to feel, actually, that it’s okay that they’re picking on me because obviously, I have touched a nerve, and maybe I’m a threat to them.”
The Walvis Bay Community Association (WBCA), led by activist Elvis Goseb, has also entered the race, saying that years of petitioning councillors have not resulted in any change.
“We fought from outside the chambers but realised that we can only reach a certain level of engagement before the fight would die down,” Goseb said.
He said councillors have failed to assist residents, prompting the association to contest the elections for self-representation.
“We realised that the councillors we submit the petitions to are not coming to our aid as residents. That’s when we decided to register the association to take part in the elections, for self-representation as residents.”
Promises
WBCA leader Elvis Goseb said the association’s campaign aims to empower Walvis Bay residents to take control of local decisions, focusing on debt, housing, jobs and billing issues.
He criticised the current debt deal as impractical and self-serving, proposing a debt relief programme and prepaid water meters instead, saying access to water is a human right.
On housing, the WBCA plans to push for a partnership between the municipality and the National Housing Enterprise, as well as a municipal housing scheme to reduce the backlog.
The group also proposes lowering the municipal workers’ pension age from 65 to 60 to align with the national pension age and create space for younger workers.
Goseb said the WBCA wants to establish a municipal roadworks team to handle pothole repairs, create jobs, and cut costs, while also granting ownership certificates to long-term Tutaleni residents and reviewing pensioners’ recent billing charges.
LPM councillor Ryan Gordon said it has been difficult to work with a limited mandate, adding that Narraville has been neglected while other areas received attention. He said road repairs, speed humps, and upgrades requested for the area never materialised.
Gordon cautioned voters against believing empty campaign promises, saying political parties only listen during election time. He said he did his best to serve but needs more seats to make a greater impact, adding that residents deserve better than broken promises.
