News of the Council purge is the talk of the nation, and the ruling party has been left scrambling to contain the fallout.
It has also created confusion over who, if anyone, is in control of Namibia's capital city.
Yesterday, well-placed party sources said the head office expects a letter recommending the withdrawal of Dr Björn von Finckenstein, Linnea Shaetonhodi and Hileni Ilonga from the City Council to be discussed by the top four in the national Swapo leadership.
Last week the Khomas regional executive committee summarily withdrew Mayor Matheus Shikongo, Von Finckenstein, Shaetonhodi and Ilonga but were subsequently told that they had not followed the right procedures.
According to the party they were only supposed to recommend the withdrawal.
Confusion also arose because Shikongo was withdrawn on Friday morning while the rest had received their letters on Wednesday.
The Namibian's sources said Shikongo was not supposed to be withdrawn as some felt it would cause severe damage to the party at this time, as well as Windhoek's image.
By yesterday afternoon all indications were that his name will be omitted from the new list of withdrawals for Windhoek, which will be submitted to President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who is also Swapo President, the party's vice president Hage Geingob, Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and Deputy Secretary General Nangolo Mbumba for consideration.
Regional leaders in Swapo can only make recommendations to the national leadership, but cannot unilaterally decide on axing members in such prominent positions, a source said yesterday.
Although some sources inside Swapo maintain that some of the national leaders were consulted about the withdrawal of the four town councillors and gave their approval, most Politburo members did not, including Pohamba and Geingob.
The drastic step taken by the Khomas regional executive sent shockwaves through the party membership and has angered many Windhoek residents.
How could they do this to the mayor of our capital city? an irate resident from Ludwigsdorf told The Namibian yesterday.
Mayor Shikongo is popular among all Windhoekers, we want him back.
Iivula-Ithana held an emergency meeting at noon on Friday with some members of the Khomas regional executive and Mayor Shikongo to try and mop up the spilt milk.
In that meeting Shikongo was told that they would be reinstated and would receive a letter to that effect the same afternoon.
This did not happen.
By yesterday afternoon it transpired that the Khomas regional executive had still not sent the temporary reinstatement letters.
If the regional executive still wanted the other three out, they were advised, they could send another letter recommending the withdrawals.
The top four Swapo leaders would then meet and decide on the fate of the three councillors.
Those three will in all probability be removed from their positions and according to correct procedures this time, a party insider said.
BONES OF CONTENTION
Meanwhile, a special City Council meeting scheduled for this week might be postponed because of the chaos caused by the Khomas regional executive in the 15-member chamber, where opposition parties hold five seats.
They must decide whether or not to renew the contract of Chief Executive Officer Niilo Taapopi, whose five-year term comes to an end.
Shikongo, Von Finckenstein, Shaetonhodi and Ilonga are said to have wanted the position advertised in the interests of a fair and transparent process.
Others like councillors Elaine Trepper and Gerson Kamatuka prefer to just renew Taapopi's contract.
That is one of the main bones of contention that led to the withdrawals.
The group that want Taapopi to continue argue that his inefficiency should have been addressed through a performance appraisal but this was not done.
They claim that Shikongo only supports the other group because of the leaking of confidential information last year regarding outstanding municipal bills of some prominent Swapo residents in Windhoek, including Shikongo, who owed the municipality thousands of dollars.
The issue was widely reported by the media last year and the Anti-Corruption Commission investigated possible wrongdoing on the part of the Government officials and Shikongo but found no base for prosecution.
Taapopi was allegedly also instructed to remove the secretary to the tender board at the City of Windhoek but did not do so.
Those who want the CEO position advertised argue that Taapopi has allegedly not shown enough competence in his job, is not a good manager and has failed to uphold the City's values like innovation, integrity, open communication, efficiency and effective service delivery.
They feel that advertising the position will give the Council an option for a bigger pool of candidates to select from.
The Namibian
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