Namibia's ruling party began a two-day congress yesterday to pick a successor to veteran President Sam Nujoma, with political temperatures on the rise ahead of the historic meeting -- the first time three candidates have run for the party's top position.
Nujoma, 75, has ruled Namibia since independence in 1990 after leading the struggle against apartheid South Africa for three decades as the president of the South West Peoples' Organization (SWAPO).
He is due to step down following elections in November, heralding a new era in Namibia, a former German colony that was later ruled by Pretoria when it was called South-West Africa.
Three candidates are in contention for the position, all nominated during a special central committee meeting last month, and will be standing for election by some 600 delegates attending the meeting in the capital.
Nujoma on Monday fired foreign minister Hidipo Hamutenya -- one of the three candidates in the running to succeed him.
The shock move has fuelled speculation over the outcome of the congress.
On Thursday, a defiant Hamutenya told a press conference: "I am still a candidate and also still a member of the party's politburo and the central committee as well as a member of parliament.
"I intend to remain in this race. I have tried to run a clean campaign, one that steered clear of mudslinging and character assassination," he added.
The other contenders in the race are Hifikepunye Pohamba, the party vice president hand-picked by Nujoma to be his successor, and Nahas Angula, the country's minister for higher education, who on Wednesday said to reporters he had never had "any strong presidential ambitions before" being nominated.
Angula said he would stand for the position "to serve the Namibian people."
"I am not doing this for power or glory, but to serve the Namibian people," he said.
Land Affairs Minister Pohamba has declined to make statements or give interviews.
Nujoma last month announced he would not be seeking a fourth term in office and would hand over the reins when his term ends in March next year in what will be the first transition of power in Namibia since independence.
But the days leading up to the conference swirled with political intrigue, including Hamutenya's sacking and the congress venue being kept a secret to confuse the estimated 600 delegates in a campaign "to benefit Nujoma's candidate, Pohamba," reports said.
Local human rights organizations have also accused Nujoma's office of waging a "dirty tricks campaign," characterized by disinformation, bribery, intimidation, smear tactics, mudslinging and general demonization aimed at two of the three SWAPO presidential hopefuls, Hamutenya and Angula.
Other observers have suggested that Nujoma himself may step in to "restore the chaos within the party" and give himself a fourth term in office.
Nujoma and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe are the only leaders in sub-Saharan Africa still in power since independence.
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