Jerry Ekandjo

Jerry Lukiiko Ekandjo (born 17 March 1947) is a Namibian politician, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner.

[1] He received the highest number of votes, 395 (tied with Nahas Angula), in the election to the central committee of SWAPO at the party's August 2002 congress.

[6] On January 27, 2008, he was elected as SWAPO's secretary for information and publicity at a central committee meeting, a move that was considered surprising given Ekandjo's reputation for having a harsh attitude toward the media.

[9] In the wake of the congress, Ekandjo was moved to the post of Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture as part of a cabinet reshuffle on 4 December 2012.

[12] Although he failed to make it into parliament in the election, he was subsequently chosen by President Hage Geingob as one of his eight presidential appointees to the National Assembly.

[13] Geingob also retained Ekandjo as Minister of Sport, Youth, and National Service when he named his cabinet in March 2015.

[14] For the 2017 SWAPO electoral congress, Ekandjo campaigned against President Geingob, calling the leadership of the government and ruling party "weak".

[17] Ekandjo is known for his "repeated and long-standing pattern of making hateful statements, taking undemocratic decisions, and refusing to comply with court orders".

Human rights activist Phil ya Nangoloh judged him as being homophobic, public policy commentator Graham Hopwood sees a "track record of uttering hateful statements", and The Namibian diagnoses a "lack of political tolerance".