By Stefanus Nashama

Long-serving SWAPO councillor of Okatyali constituency in the Oshana Region, Joseph Mupetami, says his recent defeat in the party’s primaries is part of democracy and nothing unusual in politics.
Mupetami, who has served as a councillor for 27 years lost the party ticket for the upcoming regional council and local authority elections to SWAPO youth league secretary in the constituency Johaness Philipus.  He secured 22 votes, while Phillipus received 27.
Speaking to Confidente this week, Mupetami said he fully respects the outcome.
“What else can I say? That is what the party constitution says, and I am in support of that,” Mupetami said.
He stressed that his exit from office would not be a rejection of responsibility, but a normal result of internal party competition.
“It is good that I was removed from the responsibility to serve the people. I did not ask people to vote for me. If they needed me to be there, the congress could have retained me,” he added. Although he had earlier indicated he would not seek re-election, Mupetami said he is now focusing on a “new chapter” in life, which he did not reveal.
“I will leave in peace. I do not sleep due to thinking of the needs of the people,” he reflected.
He further pledged his full support to the elected party candidate, noting that he respects the congress’s decision.
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes described Mupetami as one of the country’s most hardworking councillors, saying his departure is a loss for both SWAPO and the community.
“It is not good to change what is good for the people. Mupetami, being one of the hardworking councillors in the country and rejected by the party, is another testament of how the party is losing leaders with good quality and character,” Johannes argued.
However, he acknowledged that internal democracy often requires such changes.
“If that is what happened through the party’s procedure, then it is done and dusted,” he said.