Africa-Press – Namibia. FORMER president Hifikepunye Pohamba three weeks ago turned down a request by Oshikoto governor Penda ya Ndakolo to provide his office with a grace period of two months to find a suitable dwelling for Amanda Keirises and to relocate her and her family.
Keirises and her family were evicted from Pohamba’s farm Guinaspoh over the weekend. Ya Ndakolo told Pohamba his office has written to deputy minister Royal
/Ui-/o/o in the division of marginilised communities in the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare to urgently relocate the family to Ondera in the Guinas constituency in the Oshikoto region.
Ya Ndakolo said the family in February indicated to regional councillor Gotlieb Ndjendjela of the Tsumeb constituency that they were willing to relocate anywhere in the country if the government provided them with land, while they apply for resettlement.
“The family was given notice to vacate the farm in 2015, and again on 9 September 2021, but due to homelessness and landlessness they have remained there.
“As I write to you, the family has just received a combined summons from the High Court requiring them to vacate by 7 November,” the official correspondence reads.
The correspondence is contained in a 30-page dossier on the plight of the Keiriseb and /Haodoms families, which are part of the Hai //om community. Ya Ndakolo sent the dossier to Otjozondjupa governor James Uerikua.
Pohamba’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, responded to Ya Ndakolo’s request for two months’ grace, saying the farm is under the jurisdiction of the Otjozondjupa region, and not the Oshikoto region.
“Be that as it may, our clients will have the court order executed as directed by the court,” Namandje said in his response.
In a letter addressed to Amanda and Alfred Keiriseb in November last year, Pohamba and his wife expressed their dismay over an alleged breach of contract.
The two couples signed a rental agreement in 2013 according to which the Keirisebs were allowed to live on Pohamba’s farm Guinaspoh no 1401 for another three years, and the contract was non-renewable.
The rental agreement required the Keirisebs to make a yearly payment of N$144, or N$12 per month, for their stay at Guinaspoh no 1401, draw water from the well located where they are, maintain the fencing in their area, ensure their number of animals do not exceed the land’s carrying capacity, and that their animals feed around the camp allocated to them.
Furthermore, they were asked not to construct any more dwellings, which they allegedly did. The Keirisebs were also accused of constructing a cattle pen, which has become a security threat to the Pohambas’ livestock.
“Due to the above factors we have come to the conclusion that we can no longer host you on our property as we feel our kindness has been taken for granted, and the trust element within our relationship has been irreparably breached,” the Pohambas said.
The family has sought the assistance of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), which have brought the matter to parliament. Pohamba in the letter said various untruths have been mentioned in the parliament, such as that farm Guinaspoh is a resettlement farm.
“We have lived with your family on our farm for 17 years, and within those years on two occasions our private matters were brought into parliament in relation to your family staying on our land.
“First by the UDF, and then by the LPM,” the letter reads.
“Initially we had no intention of terminating our agreement with you, however, these constant breaches of our agreement, and the actions you have taken against us were malicious and have tarnished our reputation. We therefore request you to vacate our premises by 28 February,” Pohamba said.
Namandje yesterday denied that the former president’s refusal to grant the grace period was linked to the family approaching certain political parties.
“This is purely the owner asserting his right to put off people who have been living on his land illegally. The fact that he is a former president does not mean he has less of a right than others to assert his rights,” he said.
Uerikua yesterday said negotiations with the division of marginilised communities in the gender ministry to relocate the family to farm Ondera have commenced. He said Ondera is a resettlement farm to which 134 families have already been relocated, and is a possibility for the Keirisebs.
“I have received the dossier from Oshikoto governor Penda ya Ndakolo, and between the two governors we are dealing with this matter decisively and quickly, as we cannot leave the
Hai //om family destitute.
“If Ondera does not work, the ministry has informed us of other farms which are ready,” Uerikua said.
THREE NIGHTS ON THE ROAD Keirises’ family yesterday visited farm Ondera. The family has spent their third night on the Otavi-Tsumeb main road with their animals. Maria Blom, Keirises’ daughter, said the farm headman yesterday informed the community about her family.
“The area they showed my family is far from those who already reside there. We must build kraals though, and set up fences if it is approved that we can move there,” Blom said. The family’s remaining structures were yesterday still being demolished on Pohamba’s farm. OUTRAGE
LPM deputy leader Henny Seibeb yesterday said: “While we understand his constitutional right to own and dispose of property, we feel this move was cruel, insensitive, and does not fit the persona of a former head of state.
“As far as the LPM is concerned, this is grabbing land from the poor, most marginalised, and destitute indigenous people by the rich and powerful in Namibia in broad daylight.”
The LPM has called on government leaders to start identifying ancestral land and give minority tribes land in their ancestral areas to address the issue of landlessness.
UDF member of parliament Dudu Mororua yesterday said the issue of landlessness must be addressed. He said new farm owners who inherit people previously living on a commercial or resettlement farm is not a new issue, and can be addressed in a more civil manner.
“The way the people were evicted is not right. It raises the issue of landlessness that must be addressed. The former president knows how to address the issue of workers who have been on the farms that you inherit, because he was the minister of lands for many years,” Murorua said.
He denied that the UDF has ever discussed the issue of the Hai //om community on Pohamba’s farm as alluded to by Pohamba in his letter to the Keirisebs.
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