Office extract for citation on panduleniitula.com (draft). Ligature and line-break cleanup only. Media-inquiry footers and party profile copy from the PDF are not reprinted. Some office PDFs print Independence Patriots or Leader of the Official Opposition; this site keeps Independent Patriots for Change and does not treat the opposition-leader heading as a finding. This extract is the office wording, not a finding of this site. Filename as supplied: PRESS STATEMENT_PRESIDENT.pdf Passages in the office PDF that discuss identifiable private interests are not hosted here. 03 February 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA STATEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOT HOSTILITY WHEN POWER DRIFTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION - STATEMENT BY PANDULENI ITULA (DR.) PRESIDENT OF THE INDEPENDENT PATRIOTS FOR CHANGE (IPC) 2. At the outset, it is important to state what this debate is not about. It is not about personal attacks. It is not about undermining the Presidency. And it is not about denying any Namibian the right to lawful economic activity. It is, however, about accountability, transparency, professionalism, and the preservation of the constitutional separation of powers. ALLEGATIONS MUST BE TREATED AS ALLEGATIONS. 4. Those who possess credible, substantive information have a duty to bring it forward so that it may be tested, verified, or dismissed. Speculation and innuendo serve neither justice nor democracy. At the same time, allegations of this gravity cannot simply be brushed aside through silence or irritation. 5. Namibia's emerging oil and gas sector is strategic, capital-intensive, and capable of shaping the nation's economic destiny for generations. For that reason, it must be governed by the highest ethical and constitutional standards. 6. Of serious concern is the growing perception that control over strategic national resources including legislative and policy direction is being increasingly concentrated within the Presidency itself. Where laws, regulations, or executive authority are shaped or centralised in a manner that weakens ministerial responsibility or sidelines Parliament, this raises legitimate questions about the erosion of the separation of powers. 7. Our Constitution does not vest ownership of national resources in any individual office. It vests them in the people of Namibia, to be administered through transparent institutions, accountable ministers, and parliamentary oversight. 8. This raises a fundamental question the nation is entitled to ask: if ministers are constitutionally appointed to oversee portfolios such as mines, energy, and natural resources, why does it appear that trust in those very ministers is being bypassed or overridden? Centralising control at the apex of executive power does not strengthen governance it weakens institutional accountability. 9. In this context, the most responsible course of action is not deflection but disclosure. It would strengthen the Presidency not weaken it for the President to take the nation into confidence by clearly declaring, clarifying, denying, or confirming any potential conflicts of interest, and by explaining what safeguards exist to ensure that no legislation, policy, or executive action is captured for private benefit. Transparency is not an admission of wrongdoing. It is a constitutional duty. 10. The media plays an indispensable role in democratic accountability. Journalists must conduct themselves with professionalism, accuracy, restraint, and ethical discipline. Allegations must be contextualised, and the line between fact and suspicion must never be blurred. 11. However, no concern about journalistic conduct can ever justify the use of force, intimidation, or coercion by state machinery. A President may decline to answer questions, but journalists must never be treated as security threats for asking them. 12. Security protocols must never be weaponised to suppress scrutiny. When force replaces explanation, public trust erodes. 13. The Independent Patriots for Change does not seek to weaken the Presidency. We seek to strengthen it by insisting that power remains distributed, accountable, and constitutionally bound. 14. Democracies do not collapse through coups alone. They erode quietly when power is centralised, institutions are sidelined, and accountability is treated as hostility. 15. Namibia deserves leadership that trusts its ministers, respects Parliament, protects the press, and remembers that all authority flows from the Constitution and from the people. That is not opposition politics. That is constitutional patriotism. ISSUED BY: PANDULENI ITULA (DR.) PRESIDENT - INDEPENDENT PATRIOTS FOR CHANGE (IPC)