Pendukeni "Penny" Iivula-Ithana (born 11 October 1952) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician who served as the secretary general of

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

, Namibia's ruling party, from 2007 to 2012. She was a member of the

Constituent Assembly of Namibia Below is a list of members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which became the National Assembly of Namibia upon independence in March 1990. Individual members were selected by political parties voted for in the 1989 election, the first de ...

in 1989 and has been a

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and member of cabinet since independence in 1990. Iivula-Ithana served in several ministerial positions over a span of three decades. Her last ministerial post was in the

interior ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. After criticising the sitting president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 ...

and other senior political leaders in November 2017 she was dismissed from cabinet. She also lost her parliamentary seat at the end of the 2015–2020 legislative period.

Early life, education and exile

Iivula-Ithana was born on 11 October 1952 in Uukwandongo,

Ongandjera Ongandjera (from "aagandji yiiyela", ''place of gold metal thread beads'') is settlement near Okahao in the Omusati Region in northern Namibia. Historically part of Ovamboland, Ongandjera is also a traditional kingship. In 1917, South Africa stri ...

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. The term originally referred to the parts of ...

.Namibia Institute for Democracy profile
. In 1974 she went into exile and became one of the first woman fighters in the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the Sout ...

(PLAN). She was active in the

SWAPO Youth League The SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL), formerly known as the SWAPO Youth League (SYL), is the youth wing of the SWAPO Party, the ruling party of Namibia since 1990.Swapo party constitution It shares the same principles as those of the SWAPO Party. ...

and the SWAPO Women's Council whose Secretary she became in 1980. Iivula-Ithana holds Bachelor of Laws and B.Juris degrees from

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

(1999 and 1998), and a Diploma in Public Administration and Management from the

United Nations Institute for Namibia The United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) was an educational body set up by the United Nations Council for Namibia from 1976 to 1990. Based in Zambia's capital of Lusaka, UNIN was the brainchild of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia Se� ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

(1979). Ithana also holds an MBA from Namibia

International University of Management The International University of Management (IUM) is a private, state-recognized university based in Windhoek, Namibia. It has campuses in Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Ongwediva and Nkurenkuru. History The university was founded by David Namwandi i ...

Political career

Immediately prior to Namibian independence she was a SWAPO delegate to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, which was in place from November 1989 to March 1990, and upon independence in March 1990 she became a member of the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of close ...

. Iivula-Ithana served in several

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

positions. She was deputy Minister of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism from 1990 to 1991, Minister of Youth and Sport from 1991 to 1996, and Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation from 1996 to 2001. She was moved from the latter position to that of

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on January 26, 2001."Namibia: President appoints ruling party secretary-general new land minister", Nampa, January 26, 2001. In March 2005, when President

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

took office, she was appointed to the additional post of

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

. At SWAPO's August 2002 congress, Iivula-Ithana placed 23rd in the election for the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

, receiving 310 votes. She was elected as secretary general of SWAPO at the party's November 2007 congress, becoming the first woman to hold that position. Iivula-Ithana was one possible contender for SWAPO's presidential candidacy, a position determined at the end-2012 party congress. She lost to

and runner-up

Jerry Ekandjo Jerry Lukiiko Ekandjo (born 17 March 1947) is a Namibian politician, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is one of the founding members of the SWAPO Youth League and has been one of the most active internal leading members ...

, coming third by a margin. This fifth SWAPO congress was followed by a cabinet reshuffle on 4 December 2012, in which she became

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. In late August 2014, when SWAPO chose its list of parliamentary candidates for the November 2014 general election, Iivula-Ithana only managed to obtain the 86th spot on the list, a poor performance that made it seem unlikely that she would be elected to the National Assembly. Although she failed to make it into parliament in the election, she was subsequently chosen by President

as one of his eight presidential appointees to the National Assembly. When Geingob took office in March 2015, Iivula-Ithana was retained in her post as Minister of Home Affairs. For the 2017 SWAPO electoral congress Iivula-Ithana campaigned against president Geingob, calling the leadership of government and ruling party "weak". She was dismissed from her minister position on 1 February 2018, along with fellow critic and minister

. She also lost her positions on SWAPO's

central committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

and

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

, commenting in 2022:

"The congress of 2017 stripped me of every accolade I have earned in Swapo and position in the government, and that was not pleasant."

Frans Kapofi Frans Kapofi (born 25 January 1953) is a Namibian politician who since 1999 has served in various positions in cabinet. A member of SWAPO, he is a military officer by training. Kapofi has been a permanent secretary for various ministries of go ...

succeeded her as minister of Home Affairs.

Controversies

When Iivula-Ithana became secretary general of SWAPO it was also decided that this post would become a full-time salaried position. It was consequently expected that she would leave her posts of justice minister and attorney general at the time of the next cabinet reshuffle. However, she remained in all three posts. It was reported that there were internal disagreements in the

SWAPO Party The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

regarding the issue of Iivula-Ithana's multiple jobs, with president Pohamba wanting to remove Iivula-Ithana from her cabinet posts while former president

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

's supporters wanted her to retain all posts and opposed implementing the resolution. During her term as Justice Minister Iivula-Ithana clashed with the Namibian Magistrates Commission over the dismissal of a magistrate. The Magistrates Commission successfully sued her, the case is appealed by her in the

Supreme Court of Namibia The Supreme Court of Namibia is the highest court in the judicial system of Namibia. It is the court of last resort and the highest appellate court in the country. It is located in the city centre of Namibia's capital city, Windhoek. A Supreme Co ...

Awards and recognition

A school in the

Omusati Region Omusati ( ng, Mopane, after the dominant tree in the area) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. , Omus ...

of northern Namibia, formerly part of Onamhidi Combined School, is named Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana High School after her. The primary section of Onamhidi Combined was also named after her but has been renamed

Bernard Haufiku Bernard Shidute Haufiku is a Namibian medical doctor and politician. He served as Minister of Health and Social Services from 2015 to 2018. During his tenure as minister, Haufiku voiced views against corruption and in favour of legalising abortion ...

Primary School in 2021 in order to resolve the name duplication.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iivula-Ithana, Pendukeni 1952 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Omusati Region SWAPO politicians Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Women government ministers of Namibia Justice ministers of Namibia Youth ministers of Namibia Sports ministers of Namibia Land reform ministers of Namibia Home affairs ministers of Namibia Female interior ministers Attorneys-General of Namibia 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians Oshigambo High School alumni 20th-century Namibian women politicians 20th-century Namibian politicians