German-Namibian Swapo Veteran Resigns from Ruling Party After 50 Years
By TUW
Henning Melber, a long-serving Swapo member with more than 50 years of affiliation to the ruling party, has formally resigned, citing deep dissatisfaction with its current direction.
In a resignation letter dated 16 August 2025, addressed to party president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and copied to secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, Melber expressed that he could no longer align his values with the principles guiding Swapo today.
He pointed specifically to the recent state funeral of former NDF chief Solomon “Jesus” Hawala, describing it as a painful reminder of what he called “the darkest chapter in Swapo’s history.”
“Swapo has betrayed the people. As a matter of restoring personal integrity, it is ultimately time for me to part,” he wrote.
Melber, born in 1950 in Stuttgart, Germany, moved to Namibia in 1967 as the son of immigrants. He joined Swapo in 1974 and has since been deeply involved in political and social discourse. A trained journalist, he pursued studies at the Freie Universität Berlin before completing a PhD in Political Science in 1980 and later a Habilitation in Development Studies in 1992 at the University of Bremen.
