EDITORIAL The submission which Swapo central committee member and Fishrot accused Sacky Shanghala wrote from jail recently is an indictment that the ruling party is co-run from jail.Shanghala, perhaps tending to his duties as a central committee member, compiled a lengthy write-up in which he warns Swapo to evolve or perish.
The former justice minister needed to show that he is still in the leadership of the party and not just a trial-awaiting alleged criminal.
He needed to remind everyone that he is fulfilling his obligations towards the party in that capacity.
It’s a dramatic irony for a man whose alleged Fishrot transgressions, though yet to be proven in court, have helped accelerate the decline of Swapo in both 2019 and 2020 elections.
The allegations against Shanghala and his co-accused have damaged Swapo’s prospects. So, for him to preach as though he was not the very fibre that has weakened the party’s body and soul smacks of a man reading people’s anger, both in and outside of Swapo, poorly.
But if we park Fishrot for a minute, Shanghala’s submission in general is a welcome move, especially his suggestion that Swapo must prioritise competence over loyalty if it’s to remain relevant in an evolving political environment.
It is, however, laughable that it had to take arrest and incarceration for him to finally speak truth to power.