Nip dangerous tools in the bud

Dear Sir
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is, if we believe in the saying, bound to become king. Often in Namibia, this happens. If we see how the members of SPYL – and the Namibian workers – are intellectually enslaved to their leaders, we have to assume that they, indeed, are ‘blind’. And if we are able to remember, and see, how their past leaders worked their way up into parliament and even cabinet, we can understand the actions of members like young Job Amupanda. ‘Civilised’ and ‘well mannered’ as most Namibians are, we keep our mouths shut when we should speak up against the parroting of leaders, against the back-stabbing, the almost unreal machinations around their elections and the crass irresponsibility and stupidity displayed in those circles. Job Amupanda is still a very young man. He is not a finished person; he still attends university. And he does that not as a lecturer, but as a mere student. He has read quite a few books, books he selected himself and books he did not really understand. And he planned his future. Because he obviously has the talent to impress ‘the blind’, being his peers – the number of votes he received are witness to that – and because he puts his own interests ruthlessly before those of his peers and the nation, he will eventually succeed.
However, he is a very dangerous man in the making. I read his column repeatedly in a local weekly, I listened to his arguments on TV and I am fully convinced that he dares to go immediately against anything good our country needs the moment it stands in his way. Maybe Swapo still sees him as a tool; much like Zuma (and the ANC) once saw Malema as a tool. However, ANC is unable to get rid of Malema, so will Swapo also be unable to get rid of Amupanda who is busy sending roots into the structures of the party. Will the party be able to weed out these roots when necessary? We should allow no person, who dares to use racism and religion as his/her common political tool in our times and in our southern Africa – democracy has to protect itself against such evils. Such doings should be nipped in the bud; the guardians of our democracy should do it as soon as possible, best when the perpetrator(s) is still a bud. Let the horrible example of Julius Malema warn us all! Let us pray that out of our youth and out of our workers corps a man of integrity will rise to replace the egoists, the demagogues and all those who poison our Namibian society!
Peter Mutari
Via E-mail