ONGWEDIVA: Teachers at the disputed Haihambo Primary School PSin the Ohangwena Region could not start work on Tuesday morning after a group of community members, believed to belong to the Swapo-Party, locked the school’s gate.

The motive behind the locking of the school gate, which was locked using six padlocks, was not immediately known.

“My monitors on the ground informed me that the group also decided to camp out in tents in front of the school since about 23h30 on Monday night,” said Secretary of the Rally for Democracy and Progress RDPin the region, Timo Shikongo on Tuesday evening.

Shikongo told Nampa via telephone that he informed some senior officers of the Namibian Police Force NamPolin the region on Tuesday morning, and they agreed to send NamPol officials to the school to conduct investigations.

Director of Education in the region, Sanet Steenkamp, declined to comment on the issue, and referred Nampa to the Chief Regional Officer CROof the region, Daniel Kashikola.

Kashikola could however not be reached for comment as he was in a meeting until very late on Tuesday evening.

Haihambo PS became a political battleground between the ruling Swapo-Party and official opposition political party, RDP, following a donation of fencing material and some money by RDP president Hidipo Hamutenya to that school earlier this year.

Hamutenya was appointed as patron of that school while he was still one of the top Swapo leaders.

Members of the Swapo and their leaders in that region have since been conducting meetings at Omutwewomunhu, where the school is located, to come up with strategies as to how to undo Hamutenya’s relationship with the school.

They also unsuccessfully demanded that the school principal, Rosalia Ndamanomhata, be removed for accepting that Hamutenya continues to be the patron of Haihambo PS.