McHenry Venaani

Opposition parties battling own devils

Opposition parties battling own devils

Martin Endjala New opposition parties find themselves putting out the flames of division in their midst. It’s not only Swapo as many thought, but divisions are hounding the new political formations. With factions occurring in the parties, political analyst Ndumba Kamwenyah has expressed concerns over better alternatives to challenge Swapo in an interview with the Windhoek Observer. Kamwenyah said that many opposition parties have showed a lack of quality and cementing themselves as better alternatives to the incumbent government. He added that the lack of ideology and the power fights within opposition parties show that there is still no credible…
Read More
PDM threatens to boycott polls ….’partisan’ ECN commissioner irks PDM

PDM threatens to boycott polls ….’partisan’ ECN commissioner irks PDM

Martin Endjala One name among the members of the Electoral Commission of Namibia cause a major uproar in the National Assembly today. The vetting and endorsement of the commissioners of the elections body is always a controversial matter in the house and sometimes turns into real election campaigning. Opposition parties are in the habit of accusing the ruling Swapo Party for filling up the ECN with people sympathetic with Swapo. The vacancies for ECN commissioners are public advertised and candidates also interviewed publicly. The opposition parties were particularly irked by one commissioner, who they said served previously as an assistant…
Read More
Venaani’s black Merc in the house

Venaani’s black Merc in the house

Staff Reporter The State of the Nation Address in Parliament today saw opposition parliamentarians and President Hage Geingob calling each other out on different issues. The State of the Nation Address gives opportunity to members of parliament to ask or engage the president on any issue of national concern. Parliamentarians in particular have been found to get hot under the collar when the president does not respond to their questions as they would have liked. Sometimes the house also goes into overdrive, when the debate gets into personal attacks and forceful removal of MPs, because of threatening behaviour of some…
Read More
Venaani demands respect from State House …. Justifies not attending oil discovery briefing

Venaani demands respect from State House …. Justifies not attending oil discovery briefing

Eba Kandovazu POPULAR Democratic Movement President McHenry Venaani justified his absence from the briefing of political parties on the green hydrogen project and recent oil discovery in Namibia by President Hage Geingob, saying that State House blundered when it extended an invite to PDM, containing the details of another leader of an opposition party. According to Venaani, the invite was received by PDM on Monday around 11h00. Around 18h00, a State House representative reached out to him enquiring whether or not he would attend the meeting, which was held yesterday. "It was too short of a notice, we are the…
Read More
EX PDMYL leader removed due to age

EX PDMYL leader removed due to age

Eba Kandovazu FORMER Secretary General for the Popular Democratic Movement Youth League(PDMYL) Benson Katjirijova says although he was removed as the youth league’s leader due to his age late last year, no law compelled him to exit the position. Katjirojova, who is turning 40-years-old this year has been PDMYL Secretary General since 2012. The party’s Secretary General Manuel Ngaringobe announced that the party has resorted to disbanding all it’s regional executive committees and restructuring them, with immediate effect. Katjiriova confirmed that the decision to remove him on the basis of age came from the party’s top six management, including it’s…
Read More
PDM recognizes LGBTQ+ rights

PDM recognizes LGBTQ+ rights

Tujoromajo Kasuto The Popular Democrat Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani today said PDM recognises the rights of all LGBTQI+ individuals on equal terms as every other Namibian citizen under the provisions of the Constitution. He further shared that the movement will establish a Commission on Minority Groups with a specific terms of reference mandated at listening to the plight of minorities in order to comprehend the magnitude of their issues. Meanwhile on Abortion, Venaani said that while recognizing women’s right to bodily autonomy, the PDM abides by the relevant legislation on the applicability of abortion under Namibian law. On Gender…
Read More
Venaani proposes  re-negotiation of Genocide deal

Venaani proposes re-negotiation of Genocide deal

Eba Kandovazu POPULAR Democratic Movement (PDM) President, McHenry Venaani, is calling on a re-negotiation of the Genocide deal, with an all parties Select Committee of the National Assembly as the midwife on the road towards the re-negotiation along with the government and the affected communities. This, he says, is because the National Assembly had a 'diminished role' when it came to engaging in the Genocide debate. "If a Parliament’s membership is truly representative of the country’s population, the decisions taken by parliamentarians in respect of genocide agreements would be endorsed by the people as its democratically elected representatives bearing their…
Read More
PDM to oppose Noa’s re-appointment

PDM to oppose Noa’s re-appointment

Andrew Kathindi The Leader of the official opposition, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), McHenry Venaani says his party will reject the nomination of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director General, Paulus Noa, when the matter is brought for debate tomorrow, 28 July. Prime Minister, Saara Kugongelwa, on Tuesday afternoon confirmed to the National Assembly, which met for a special session after it has been on an indefinite break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that Noa and his second in charge, Erna van der Merwe, have been nominated by President Hage Geingob. “We are going to vehemently argue against the reappointment of Noa. He…
Read More
LPM High Court judgement questioned

LPM High Court judgement questioned

Andrew Kathindi The High Court’s decision to dismiss the Landless People’s Movement’s (LPM) application to set aside Speaker of Parliament, Peter Katjavivi’s indefinite suspension of Bernandus Swartbooi and Henny Seibeb could set a worrying precedent. These were the views of Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) President Mike Kavekotora, who sits on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and Internal Arrangements (STROC). The STROC according to parliament’s spokesperson, David Nahogandja, generally deals with matters such as misconduct before it is brought before the Privileges Committee. Kavekotora claimed that Katjavivi lied when he said the matter was dealt…
Read More
Venaani demands answers from Parliament

Venaani demands answers from Parliament

Andrew Kathindi Parliament's Privileges Committee Vice Chairperson and leader of the official opposition, McHenry Venaani, has accused Parliament of keeping him in the dark over what it plans to charge Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader, Bernardus Swartbooi, and the party's second-in-charge, Henny Seibeb. This comes as a meeting which was scheduled to discuss the fate of two lawmakers did not take place on Tuesday, with Venaani stating that he was not even informed about the postponement. "I find it very strange that two meetings are postponed and I am the Vice Chair of the meeting and I am not being…
Read More