Africa-Press – Namibia. A group of elders from the Daure Daman Traditional Authority has vowed not to leave the Erongo governor’s office in Swakopmund until he signs a document to help them remove their Chief Sagarias Seibeb.
They arrived on Tuesday morning from Uis in the Daures constituency to express frustration over the delay in the process, which they say started early last year.
Seibeb has been accused of sowing seeds of division within the community and mismanaging its resources.
Speaking on behalf of the group, elder Stannislaus Amigo Napuka said the governor is obligated by law to act.
While the law does not explicitly require the regional governor to sign off on the removal of a chief, the regulations made under the Traditional Authorities Act provide additional procedural details. Specifically, when a community seeks approval to designate a new chief or head, the application must be verified by the governor of the region.
“The Government Gazette obligates you to sign this document. You are the starting point of this process, yet you keep giving us an empty form,” Napuka told governor Neville Andre.
He claimed that the chief was already removed by the community last year.
“We removed Seibeb on 18 November, but the government is still paying him. Now, they want to force us to accept him again. That won’t happen. We will wait here until you send that email to the ministry,” Napuka said.
Andre, however, is still awaiting a report from the line ministry.
“I cannot act without a formal directive from the ministry. Once I get the report, I’ll be in a position to deal with the matter properly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Daure Daman Traditional Authority spokesperson Martin Matsuib distanced the traditional leadership from the protest.
“These individuals are not representatives of the elders’ council. They were selected and paraded by a group from Uis, which is not even under our jurisdiction,” he said.
“Our jurisdiction includes places like Palmwag, Twyfelfontein, Soris-Soris and some areas of Kunene. This group bypassed traditional structures and formed their own court to remove the chief,” Matsuib added.
He stated that the group never consulted the legitimate elders’ council of the Daure Daman.
“The protest is not sanctioned by the Daure Daman Traditional Authority. It is being driven by personal interests, not by genuine community representation,” he dismissed.
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