Africa-Press – Namibia. “I AM heartbroken. I could understand if I had stolen something, or assaulted his family, or done something wrong to be evicted this way.
“But God doesn’t sleep. He watches over all of us,” Amanda Keirises (78) says. She was over the past weekend evicted from farm Guinaspoh no 1401 near Otavi. Former president Hifikepunye Pohamba bought the farm in 2002.
Keirises says she and her family worked for the farm’s previous owners, Riennie and Ben Grobler. “As I am sitting here on the roadside, I am asking myself why this is happening to me and my family. I worked for Ben’s parents, and then for Ben’s wife.
“I had moved back to the Kunene region, but Ben called me and my family back to Guinashpoh, saying I raised him and his children. We must make sure I get ownership papers for Eben-Ezer post where I am with my family,” Keirises says.
Grobler, however, died before he could secure ownership for Amanda and her family. His son Jaco then sold the farm to Pohamba without having fulfilled his father’s wish for Keirises and her family to become the owners of Eben-Ezer post on farm Guinashpoh.
“When Pohamba came, he informed us that he had bought the farm. He also told us we could tell our children to come so we can expand our farming.
“But then he changed his intention and told us in February this year that we unfortunately need to leave the farm. He said he would give us sufficient time to find another place,” Keirises says. She says she was served with an eviction notice on 19 November as per a High Court order on 29 September.
“I herewith inform you, that should you not vacate the farm, that I, together with the Namibian Police will evict you, all other people and animals from the farm to the main road on 26 November at 09h00,” the notice read.
“But I am unschooled and do not understand Afrikaans or English, neither speak it.
But I have started applying for other resettlement farms, and local councillors have also been helping us. We have not been successful thus far,” Keirises says.
Keirises says she spent Saturday night on the main road between Tsumeb and Otavi with her 88-year-old husband, Alfred, daughter Annelise (60), and grandchildren. Her animals, including about 30 cows, 50 goats, sheep, and donkeys, are stranded with her, she says.
“Yes, it’s true we didn’t work for Pohamba, but there was nothing of his on the farm only the things we had there . . . This government says we must look after our children.
What do I do with mine now?” she asks. Keirises’ daughter Maria Blom (55) says access to water on the farm was their responsibility. “I went on early retirement, and with my money I installed solar power for us so we could draw water and electrify the place, but this is our position today,” Blom says.
Family member Violla !Garas says the houses of Keirises and her daugter were demolished on Friday. Alfred’s house was demolished on Saturday, she says.
“This is an old man who is sick and cannot even walk. He was refusing to leave as his physical condition was not allowing him to be moved around. But we assisted him since his house was already being taken apart,” !Garas says.
The local police declined to comment. Pohamba’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, yesterday confirmed that the farm indeed belongs to the former president. He said the eviction was executed in terms of a court order and not by his client.
“My client does not have the power to evict people. People are evicted through court orders,” Namandje said. He said the judiciary should be consulted on why the order was delivered late.
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