Africa-Press – Namibia. HILENI NEMBWAYA and ELIASER NDEYANALE FORMER Namibian ambassador to Finland and Estonia Bonny Haufiku’s homestead at Ohalushu village in the Ohangwena region was demolished on Wednesday.
This followed an order by the deputy sheriff of the Ohangwena region to remove any structures he may have erected on the portion of land he has been fighting for with his cousin Josua Kaukungwa for years.
The homestead was demolished in the presence of armed police officers, while villagers looked on. Haufiku, who is the village headman, has been fighting with Kaukungwa over the land which belonged to the late village headman Setty Kaukungwa.
Setty nominated Josua, his son, as the inheritor of his traditional homestead and mahangu field before he passed on 15 years ago. However, a dispute between Josua and Haufiku erupted after Setty’s death, which is still dragging on despite a High Court decision.
According to court documents in possession of The Namibian, Haufiku’s nomination as village headman was accepted by the former senior headman of the Omedi district, Johannes Moshana, on 25 November 2001.
Shortly after his appointment as village headman, Haufiku attempted to also inherit a portion of Setty’s mahangu field. This did not sit well with Josua.
Haufiku has erected structures on the land, and Josua’s attempt to stop him yielded no results. Josua approached the High Court to file for successive eviction applications against Haufiku in 2014 and 2016.
Haufiku was served with an eviction order in August 2018. In March this year, the deputy sheriff ordered Haufiku to remove any structures he has erected on the portion of land.
Haufiku has not done so, until his homestead was demolished on Wednesday. Haufiku on Thursday said Setty gave him the land in question before his death on 30 October 2006.
He said the land belonged to struggle veteran and Swapo stalwart Simon Mzee Kaukungwa, who told Setty to occupy a piece of Simon’s field when he went in exile in the mid 1970s.
After Setty’s death, the family held a meeting at which it was decided the house was his, Haufiku said. Haufiku claimed Josua did not want to take the house because three family members had died there, and they were believed to have been bewitched.
DEMOLITION Haufiku said before his multimillion-dollar house was demolished this week, Josua and his brother Maxuilili kicked him out. He said he now stays in a room near Oshikango.
He alleged Josua and his brother used forged documents to claim ownership of the property. Haufiku said there is no record at Ohalushu or Omhedi that the land in question was given to any of the brothers.
“Josua sent me a threatening message today [yesterday]. Maybe he wants my life,” Haufiku said.
‘GO TO THE POLICE’
“If I have made any death threats against him he must go to the police. The matter has been dragging on in the courts for years, and I won the case fair and square. He must just accept his defeat,” Josua yesterday said.
He further said he is the rightful inheritor of his father’s land as per his father’s wishes before he passed on. “My father made everything clear to the family before he died. He indicated to the whole family that I will be his inheritor, while Haufiku will be his successor as the village headman . . . He is lying to you and everyone else,” Josua said.
