AR faces MP withdrawals
Parliamentary perks a turn-off
Musician Fredrick Shitana might make it to parliament if some of the party's elected lawmakers elect not to join the National Assembly.
The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement might have to field two new parliamentarians to replace another pair that has allegedly decided to remain in their current jobs due to the unattractive perks offered to lawmakers.
Namibian Sun understands that Ilse Keister, who has been elected to parliament and currently represents AR as a councillor in the Windhoek City Council, has allegedly indicated that she will not be taking up her seat in the National Assembly. She is third on the party’s list, with AR having won a total of six seats. Keister will remain a city councillor for Windhoek, sources say.
The party’s head of legal, Kavetu Maitjituavi, who is second on its list, is also understood to be reluctant to leave his job as senior compliance and regulatory officer at mobile network giant MTC. Maitjituavi has denied this, saying he will be sworn in as a lawmaker come March this year, unless the current Supreme Court case challenging the election results dictates otherwise.
“Please note that I have not taken such a decision. I will indeed be sworn in as a member of parliament come March 2025. Of course, depending on the Supreme Court decision on the election challenge case,” Maitjituavi said.
“I don’t know who your sources are, but it seems like there is someone spreading propaganda. To confirm this, you can contact the ECN, as we have not communicated anything to the contrary.”
Keister holds a senior human resources position at the Social Security Commission (SSC). It is alleged that her decision not to go to parliament is due to lower remuneration. Keister, who initially promised to clarify her stance, did not respond to a request for comment.
Members of parliament earn N$620,000 annually, which translates to about N$51,000 monthly.
If Keister and Maitjituavi decline their parliamentary seats, they are likely to be replaced by Tuhafeni Kalola and musician Fredrick Shitana, who are next on the party’s gazetted parliamentary list.
ECN response
According to the ECN’s senior legal advisor, Alpheus Haufiku, some individuals have indicated to the commission that they no longer want to go to parliament but did not specify from which political parties.
Political parties cannot alter their gazetted parliamentary lists, Haufiku noted.
Attempts to get a comment from AR leader Job Amupanda proved futile. Amupanda recently resigned from the University of Namibia (Unam), where he worked as a senior lecturer, due to the institution’s policy regarding employees elected to parliament.
Amupanda’s colleague at Unam, Willem Amutenya of the Swapo Party, was also affected by this policy and has left his job at the university.
Amupanda is expected to remain a councillor for the City of Windhoek and will only be required to resign a day before the swearing-in of members of parliament takes place. He is likely to be replaced by Priscilla Heita, based on the party’s 2020 list of candidates for council seats.
Several individuals who appeared on the AR’s list for the City of Windhoek have since left the party. These include activists Simon Amunime and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma.
Contact: [email protected]
Namibian Sun understands that Ilse Keister, who has been elected to parliament and currently represents AR as a councillor in the Windhoek City Council, has allegedly indicated that she will not be taking up her seat in the National Assembly. She is third on the party’s list, with AR having won a total of six seats. Keister will remain a city councillor for Windhoek, sources say.
The party’s head of legal, Kavetu Maitjituavi, who is second on its list, is also understood to be reluctant to leave his job as senior compliance and regulatory officer at mobile network giant MTC. Maitjituavi has denied this, saying he will be sworn in as a lawmaker come March this year, unless the current Supreme Court case challenging the election results dictates otherwise.
“Please note that I have not taken such a decision. I will indeed be sworn in as a member of parliament come March 2025. Of course, depending on the Supreme Court decision on the election challenge case,” Maitjituavi said.
“I don’t know who your sources are, but it seems like there is someone spreading propaganda. To confirm this, you can contact the ECN, as we have not communicated anything to the contrary.”
Keister holds a senior human resources position at the Social Security Commission (SSC). It is alleged that her decision not to go to parliament is due to lower remuneration. Keister, who initially promised to clarify her stance, did not respond to a request for comment.
Members of parliament earn N$620,000 annually, which translates to about N$51,000 monthly.
If Keister and Maitjituavi decline their parliamentary seats, they are likely to be replaced by Tuhafeni Kalola and musician Fredrick Shitana, who are next on the party’s gazetted parliamentary list.
ECN response
According to the ECN’s senior legal advisor, Alpheus Haufiku, some individuals have indicated to the commission that they no longer want to go to parliament but did not specify from which political parties.
Political parties cannot alter their gazetted parliamentary lists, Haufiku noted.
Attempts to get a comment from AR leader Job Amupanda proved futile. Amupanda recently resigned from the University of Namibia (Unam), where he worked as a senior lecturer, due to the institution’s policy regarding employees elected to parliament.
Amupanda’s colleague at Unam, Willem Amutenya of the Swapo Party, was also affected by this policy and has left his job at the university.
Amupanda is expected to remain a councillor for the City of Windhoek and will only be required to resign a day before the swearing-in of members of parliament takes place. He is likely to be replaced by Priscilla Heita, based on the party’s 2020 list of candidates for council seats.
Several individuals who appeared on the AR’s list for the City of Windhoek have since left the party. These include activists Simon Amunime and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma.
Contact: [email protected]
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Lukas Nepolo
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