LAWYER Sisa Namandje has welcomed his appointment to Swapo's central committee, but insists he is not interested in any top government or senior Swapo position.
President Hage Geingob has appointed Namandje, among five others, to the powerful Swapo central committee (CC), which is the second-most influential ruling party body.
"I am humbled and pleasantly touched by such an important assignment and recognition," Namandje told The Namibian yesterday.
"My interest remains in law. Nothing else. I will assist the party in the central committee while continuing to run my law firm for the next 20 years or so," he said.
Namandje insisted he is "not interested in any government position, nor am I interested, in future, in any senior position in Swapo".
Namandje recently stepped down as Swapo's elections chief from this year's elective congress.
He has counted votes at various Swapo congresses for over 13 years, a role which has allowed him to set the rules and count ballots for would-be party (and thus state) presidents.
"So, what happened is that I simply changed roles from being a congress election presiding officer to a member of the
central committee," he said, adding he was asked in the past to "assist the party in that capacity, but opted not to then".
Namandje said his appointment to the CC is not a surprise since he has worked in the ruling party for over two decades.
"Since my admission as a legal practitioner in 2003 I have been serving Swapo as a legal adviser from time to time. I have also been successful in running Swapo elections at congresses and electoral colleges."
Namandje said Geingob may have considered his skills, experience and competence.
"After all, I was groomed and trained by Swapo . Hence, I must assist the party while continuing to pursue a successful legal practice in the private sector," he said.
Namandje has in the past faced criticism for being too close to politicians.
A sizeable number of his clients are prominent multimillionaires, business people and politicians of the highest stature, such as Geingob and former presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba.
