News
Namibia Makes History With Election Of First Female President
Namibia’s ruling party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation, was declared the winner of last Tuesday’s disputed elections, ushering in the southern African country’s first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognise.
Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took just over 57 per cent of ballots, followed by the candidate for the main opposition, Independent Patriots for Change, with 25.5 per cent, the election authority announced on Tuesday.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, becomes the first woman to rule the mineral-rich southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People’s Organisation since independence in 1990.
The November 27 election was extended twice as logistical and technical problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, led to long queues.
Some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.
The IPC has already said this was a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and it would not accept the results of the elections.
Its presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, 67, said last week there were a “multitude of irregularities”.
No matter the result, “the IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election”, he said on Saturday, the last day of the extended vote.
Opposition rejects poll
Itula said the IPC would “fight… to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process”.
An organisation of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors said the delays at the ballot box were intentional and widespread.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia admitted to failures in the organisation of the vote, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.
Of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the sparsely populated country, nearly 77 per cent had cast ballots in the presidential vote, it said Tuesday.
The election was seen as a key test for SWAPO after other liberation-era movements in the region had lost favour with young voters.
In the past six months, South Africa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority, and the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted after almost six decades of power.
Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter, but analysts say not many of its nearly three million people have benefited from that wealth in terms of improved infrastructure and job opportunities.
Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 per cent, according to the latest official figures from 2018, which is almost triple the national average.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, a SWAPO stalwart known by her initials NNN, will be among the few women leaders on the continent.
The conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor, she became vice president in February this year.
Recognisable by her gold-framed glasses, she has tried to vaunt the wisdom of her years during the campaign, when she was often wearing blue, red, and green, the colours of her party, and of the national flag.
Among her election promises, NNN said she intends to “create jobs by attracting investments using economic diplomacy.”
AFP
Rivers State Administrator, Retired Vice-Admiral Ibok Ibas marked Easter on Sunday with a worship service at the Chapel of Everlasting Grace, Government House, Port Harcourt.
Ibas was accompanied by his wife, Dr. Theresa, their children, and key state officials including the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika, and his family.
A statement signed by the SSA media, Hector Igbikiowubo, said the administrator joined worshippers in a service filled with uplifting hymns and prayers for peace in Rivers State and the country.
Chaplain Pastor Barasin Ogan delivered a message, reminding the congregation of the transformative power of Christ and assuring them of divine justification, deliverance, healing, and righteousness through faith.
Special prayers were offered for President Bola Tinubu, Administrator Ibas, and the continued progress of Rivers State, reinforcing unity and faith as the foundation for a brighter future.
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has strongly denied reports linking it to the alleged kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl in Rivers state, describing the claims as false, malicious, and a figment of the writer’s imagination.
In a statement issued by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Umar Abubakar, the NCoS said the allegation was aimed at misleading the public and tarnishing the image of the Service.
Abubakar stated that a thorough check of available records showed no inmate named “Chi Boy” is in custody at any facility under the Enugu State Command.
He added that the failure to provide the full names of the alleged inmate or the kidnapped victim further undermines the credibility of the report.
He emphasized that the NCoS is unaware of any kidnapping incident linked to its facilities in Rivers State or any other command, as claimed in a circulating press statement and viral video.
Abubakar also clarified that no investigative agency has tracked any suspected kidnapper to any correctional facility in either Enugu or Delta State Commands.
“Therefore, the Service is not in the position to confirm payment of ransom or whatsoever transaction as alleged in the fictitious report and video.
“The Service has no role in the said kidnap story, and as a security organization, it does not operate in isolation; rather, it partners with sister agencies to ensure adequate security. The Service will never turn down requests for investigation activities from sister agencies,” Umar said.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he has instructed Israel’s military to intensify pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian militant group rejected a temporary truce proposal.
In a televised address, the Israeli prime minister said that while war came with a heavy price, Israel had “no choice but to continue fighting for our very existence, until victory”.
On Thursday, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal for a temporary pause in fighting, describing the offer as demanding “impossible conditions”.
Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, with 24 of them believed to be alive. It says it will only return them in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.
Netanyahu’s remarks came after the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Israeli strikes had killed more than 90 people in 48 hours.
Women and children were among 15 people who were killed overnight on Friday in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.
At least 11 of those who were killed were sheltering in a tent in the designated humanitarian zone of al Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are living, the hospital workers said.
A further four people were killed in separate strikes on the city of Rafah, including a mother and her daughter, according to Gaza’s European Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
Israel says its latest campaign is to put pressure on Hamas to release more hostages and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory.
For weeks, Israeli troops have also blockaded Gaza, barring the entry of food and other goods.
Last month, 15 aid workers were killed and buried in a shallow grave after being fired upon by Israeli troops.
Hamas’s armed wing said the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after a guard who was holding him was found killed.
On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with a group of militants holding Mr Alexander in Gaza.
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