Allexer Namundjembo
Swapo deputy secretary general Uahekua Herunga has resigned as the party’s chief whip in the National Assembly.
He cited intense parliamentary pressure. Herunga will remain a member of parliament.
Herunga has served as chief whip of Swapo since the start of the eighth Parliament.
During Wednesday’s sitting, National Assembly speaker Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila announced that member of parliament Alpheus !Naruseb has been appointed as his replacement.
Herunga has also stepped down as chairperson of the whole house committee.
“Honourable Alpheus !Naruseb as the government chief whip. You are further informed that honourable Herunga has tendered his resignation as deputy chairperson of the whole house committee,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said.
She said the process to elect a new deputy chairperson would follow parliamentary rules.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said elections to fill that position will take place today.
“Nominations will be invited from the floor, and where more than one member is elected, the election shall be determined by a secret ballot,” she said.
Herunga told the media that he “has been reassigned from the office of the chief whip to concentrate more on party work.”
He did not respond to questions sent to the Windhoek Observer on Wednesday.
A similar leadership change took place in June 2024 within the Landless People’s Movement (LPM).
At the time, then LPM chief whip and deputy party leader Henny Seibeb resigned from his position as chief whip, his seat in the National Assembly and the party.
Seibeb’s resignation followed the party’s decision to appoint Utaara Mootu as its new chief whip.
After the announcement, Seibeb confirmed that he had stepped down, a move that surprised many observers.
Reports at the time indicated that Seibeb initially learnt of his replacement through social media, pointing to communication gaps within the party’s leadership.
On the same day, LPM operative secretary Edson Isaaks also resigned from both his party and parliamentary positions.
The LPM leadership later described the changes as part of an effort to promote younger leaders and publicly endorsed Mootu as suitable for the role.
