Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Otjozondjupa regional leadership was over the weekend roped in at the eleventh hour to avert a near-catastrophic situation at Gam settlement in the north-east of the vast region.
The usually quiet settlement was brought to sudden life after residents clashed with shop owners and other business people during the course of last week.
The situation, which largely pitted Ovaherero against fellow Aawambo, was apparently driven by the illegal settling of Aawambo in the area.
The residents, made up largely of Ovaherero, took it upon themselves to drive out about 14 Oshiwambo-speaking people from the area. They claimed the Aawambo, many of whom had just arrived in the area for business purposes, were bent on taking over the settlement in the form of grazing for livestock.
The residents allege that the Aawambo would come in for the sole purpose of harvesting devil’s claw in the area, but would never leave after the exercise and are then settled in the area by others who have been living in the area longer.
AAWAMBO EXILED
Many of the Aawambo were on Friday forced to leave the area – some on the back of car trailers – for fear of their lives.
The situation was only restored to normalcy towards the end of the weekend when the police and the governor stepped in.
During the peak of the clash on the same day, residents allegedly went on a looting spree, causing one shop at the settlement to lose goods worth N$8 000.The concerned shop owner, Max Endjala, says residents stormed the shop and helped themselves to various items in the shop without paying.
“They never spoke to me. They just entered the shop and started taking things, such as pants, padlocks and memory cards. They said a shop belonging to Aawambo must close down. They must come back and pay for the stuff they took,” Endjala says.
GOVERNOR STEPS IN
Otjozondjupa governor James Uerikua has, however, assured both communities and business owners that his office, in collaboration with the police and other relevant stakeholders, will do all it can to address the matter.
He said it was difficult at this stage to determine if the allegations levelled against the business people – mainly Aawambo at the settlement – are true.
The governor was quick to add that no acts of tribalism or regionalism would be condoned as people are free to settle anywhere in Namibia, provided the correct channels are followed.
“If these people who came to the area failed to follow applicable procedures, such as asking for settlement from the relevant local structures, then they are wrong, and that cannot be supported. But if they are simply not wanted because they speak a different language, that too would be wrong,” he said.
Uerikua said no record of land invasion for grazing as alleged by the residents has been found at Gam or its surroundings.
“If people are settling here illegally, where is the proof? Where is the land that has been cleared for settlement? We need to see these things to substantiate such claims,” he said.
RETURN OF DEPORTEES
Those who were made to leave the area have since returned to Gam, where a community meeting with security forces and Uerikua took place on Saturday.
Benjamin David, one of those who were initially driven out of Gam with their belongings, said false allegations were deliberately levelled against them.
He said the conflict started on Tuesday when a group of Ovaherero confronted him with allegations of bringing some 65 people in a truck from the northern part of the country to settle in the area under the guise of harvesting devil’s claw.
“The morning, a group of about 100 people came and gave us 10 minutes to pack and leave. We had to comply with what was being asked of us as the residents started throwing our things around and pushing us in a car. Three of us even travelled in the trailer, because we couldn’t fit into the bakkie,” he said.
David said only nine people came from the northern part of the country to harvest devil’s claw, and not 60, as alleged by the residents.
“The nine people did not come to work for me. I only gave them a place to settle while waiting for their boss to come pick them up. Their boss has a licence to dig those roots in the conservancy.
“I don’t know where I went wrong, I don’t understand why they closed my shop. I have been living here for about 14 years operating my store. I acquired the land fair and square, I also have my trading licence,” David said.
He said he lost money through not operating on the three days his shop was closed.
The police say they will pronounce themselves on the matter in due course, noting that the situation has, however, been restored to calm.
No one has been arrested or charged with any crime in relation to the weekend’s clashes.
Chris Muatjetjeja, a resident of Gam, at the weekend said matters were blown out of proportion.
He said businesses that were targeted were those that have been set up illegally, and not just those of the Aawambo.
“We marched against lawlessness. We did not only target one tribe. We said all those who are not following the set structures must be made to do so. That includes people who are brought into the settlement under the cover of darkness,” he said.
Gam is located some 98km north-east of Tsumkwe in the Otjozondjupa region. The settlement was initially established as a reception centre for returning Namibians from neighbouring Botswana.
The Namibians were descendants of erstwhile Ovaherero who had fled to Botswana in the aftermath of the 1904 to 1908 genocide.
It has, however, grown into a fully fledged settlement.
NOTHING NEW
Clashes between Ovaherero and other members of the community in the area over grazing are nothing new.
In 2009, a group of farmers from the Gam area invaded the neighbouring Nyae-Nyae Conservancy near Tsumkwe in the predominantly San settlement.
The farmers claimed they were driven by a lack of grazing in Gam.
Media reports at the time stated that some 32 farmers were arrested for having moved 1 210 head of cattle, 16 sheep, 45 goats, 19 horses and 28 donkeys illegally through the veterinary fence into the conservancy.
Over the years, most farmers left the area and returned to Gam.
Following a lengthy court battle, seven farmers who had refused to return to Gam with others were eventually forced by a High Court order in 2018 to leave the conservancy.
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