Jerry Ekandjo

Jerry Ekandjo (born March 17, 1947 in Windhoek , South West Africa ) is a Namibian politician for SWAPO and from 2012 to 2018 Minister in the Ministry of Youth, National Services and Sport (including culture until 2015 ).

Political career

Ekandjo was a member of the SWAPO youth league between 1969 and 1973 and chairman of this in Windhoek. After his arrest in August 1973, he was sentenced to eight years in prison three months later for inciting violence. He was serving this sentence on Robben Island in South Africa . After his release in 1981, he worked as a teacher between 1982 and 1987 . Shortly before Namibia's independence , Ekandjo was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia .

After independence in 1990, Ekandjo became a member of the Namibian National Assembly , the parliamentary lower house. Until 1995 he held the post of Vice Minister for the Ministry of Regional and Local Administration, Housing and Rural Development , before Ekandjo briefly worked as Vice Minister in the Ministry of the Interior between March and September 1995. He then became the Minister of the Interior of Namibia . In 2005 he moved to the ministerial office in the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement .

In 2002 and 2007 Ekandjo received the most votes in the election to the SWAPO Central Committee. In the election for party vice in 2007, he was not considered, possibly because he is considered a hardliner .

In 2008 Ekandjo was elected SWAPO's secretary for public relations, although he is considered very critical of the media. In the same year he moved to the Pohamba I cabinet as a minister in the Ministry for Regional and Local Administration, Housing and Rural Development.

In 2012 Ekandjo stood for election for the office of SWAPO Vice-President. He was defeated by Hage Geingob on December 2, 2012 , but ended up well ahead of Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana . Just two days later, Ekandjo was transferred to the Ministry of Youth, National Services and Sport as Minister.

In the run-up to the 2014 parliamentary elections , Ekandjo only finished 81st on the list and was not directly elected as a member of the National Assembly. After the election, however, he received one of the seats from the new President Hage Geingob, who is entitled to eight further parliamentary seats without voting rights according to the constitution.

Controversy

In 2000, Ekandjo in the Ministry of the Interior spoke out in favor of a law to eradicate homosexuality . This led to a controversial discussion in Namibia. The opposition parties DTA of Namibia and United Democratic Front initiated a vote of no confidence , but thanks to all the votes of the ruling party, this did not find a majority.

On February 9, 2001, Ekandjo was convicted of disobeying the court after failing to comply with a court order to release UNITA fighter Jose Domingo Sikunda .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ekandjo also sent packing. Namibian Sun, February 1, 2018.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jerry Ekandjo, Profiles. Parliament of the Republic of Namibia. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
3. ^ Klaus Dierks: Ekandjo profile. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
4. ^ Graham Hopwood: Who's Who, Ekandjo, Jerry - Swapo . In: Guide to Namibian Politics . Namibia Institute of Democracy. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved on December 9, 2012.
5. ^ The ruling party's new Central Committee. The Namibian, August 27, 2002.
6. ↑ Swapo big names dropped. The Namibian, December 3, 2007.
7. ^ Political Perspective. ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2011 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Namibian, December 14, 2007.  
8. ↑ Surprise changes in Swapo. The Namibian , January 29, 2008. ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ^ Cabinet Shake Up. New Era. April 9, 2008.
10. ↑ Moderate prevail. The Namibian. 3rd December 2012.
11. ↑ Namibia leader taps trade minister as likely successor. Reuters, December 4, 2012.
12. ↑ Who are the presidential appointees ?. New Era, February 3, 2015.
13. ^ Namibia gay rights row. BBC News, October 2, 2000.
14. ↑ Namibia: Ruling party MPs defeat motion to oust interior minister. Namibia Press Agency, October 12, 2000.
15. ^ Namibian interior minister convicted for defying court order. Namibia Press Agency, February 9, 2001.