{"id":3194,"date":"2021-10-08T17:45:54","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T17:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance"},"modified":"2021-10-08T17:58:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T17:58:01","slug":"witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance","title":{"rendered":"Witbooi chieftaincy hangs in balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Namibia<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>The High Court has been asked to decide if the designation of Hendrik Ismael Witbooi as chief of the Witbooi Traditional Authority by government was legal.<\/p>\n

This comes after the parties argued the matter in court this week, following an application by former Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia Salomon Josephat Witbooi challenging government\u2019s decision to designate his cousin Ismael as Kaptein of the Witbooi community.<\/p>\n

Then minister of urban and rural development Peya Mushelenga had designated Ismael as leader of the Witbooi community on 22 May 2019 and subsequently gazetted by order of the President on 15 August 2019. Salomon, who is claiming to be the rightful leader of the Witbooi community, wants the court to review and set aside government\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

In his application, Salomon is supported by fellow royal house members Anna Jacobs, who is his mother, Elizabeth Kock and Christina Fredricks, and the spokesperson of the Witbooi royal family, Penias Topnaar. Salomon and Ismael are cousins, and are both nephews of the late Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi, who was at the helm of the Witbooi community from 1978 until his death in 2009.<\/p>\n

The community fell under the leadership of Christian Rooi who was acting until his death in 2015. Salomon claims he was elected as Rooi\u2019s successor during his reign by Kock, Fredricks and Jacobs who are authorised to do so by the Witbooi royal house.<\/p>\n

His nomination was allegedly endorsed by the Witbooi Traditional Council. Subsequently, an application for designation was forwarded to the governor\u2019s office, which was later forwarded to the minister.<\/p>\n

But the minister on 22 May 2019, decided to approve the application of Ismael and officially recognising him as chief. Salomon\u2019s lawyer Reinhard T\u00f6temeyer argued the minister\u2019s decision was not in accordance with customary laws and as such, the designation is invalid. T\u00f6temeyer said the right to apply for designation lies only with the Witbooi royal house and such authority was never granted to anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not without significance that the Witbooi royal house and its elders \u2013 who have the authority to designate a chief, did not attend the coronation ceremony of the third respondent (Ismael), given the fact that the custodian of the designation ceremony, according to the Witbooi clan is the Witbooi royal house,\u201d explained T\u00f6temeyer.<\/p>\n

T\u00f6temeyer added the application was not authorised and subsequent approval of such unauthorised application constitutes nullity. According to Ismael, he has always been the rightful designated leader of the community but the dispute over his chieftaincy started when Hendrik died in 2009, despite his designation being in accordance with the Witbooi traditional community customary practices.<\/p>\n

His lawyer Sylvia Kahengombe, argued Ismael was placed under pressure to renounce his membership and position in the new African Methodist Episcopal church. His refusal allegedly caused division in the royal family with each faction nominating its own candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the court should keep in its mind in this regard is that the royal family had two factions. However, as stated above in terms of the customary law of the Witbooi community, succession is based on the patrilineal line and for that reason, the third respondent (Ismael) was nominated to be a successor to the late Kaptein Witbooi,\u201d argued Kahengombe.<\/p>\n

Kahengombe further said Ismael\u2019s coronation was in accordance with the recognised and valid law of Namibia in that his nomination as chief was made by the elders of the royal family as per custom and his application for approval of his designation was made by a councillor of the traditional council of the Witbooi Traditional Authority as required by the Act.<\/p>\n

In an affidavit, Mushelenga defended his position, saying the application for recognition as chief was supported by the Witbooi Traditional Authority, which is the designated traditional authority for the Witbooi community.<\/p>\n

He said he considered both applications as well as a report from a committee that investigated the competing applications, and argued that the proper processes in terms of the Traditional Authorities Act were followed before he designated Ismael as the new kaptein.<\/p>\n

He denied allegations of having favoured Ismael. Judge Thomas Masuku will give a ruling in the matter on 5 April 2022. Chieftaincy battle\u2026 Hendrik Ismael Witbooi with Vice President Nangolo Mbumba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. The High Court has been asked to decide if the designation of Hendrik Ismael Witbooi as chief of the Witbooi Traditional Authority by government was legal. This comes after the parties argued the matter in court this week, following an application by former Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia Salomon Josephat Witbooi challenging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12,16],"tags":[234,236,1086,233,1510],"class_list":["post-3194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-balance","tag-namibia","tag-witbooi"],"yoast_head":"\nWitbooi chieftaincy hangs in balance - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The High Court has been asked to decide if the designation of Hendrik Ismael Witbooi as chief of the Witbooi Traditional ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Witbooi chieftaincy hangs in balance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The High Court has been asked to decide if the designation of Hendrik Ismael Witbooi as chief of the Witbooi Traditional ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-08T17:45:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-08T17:58:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2021\/10\/img-61608684691ae.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"479\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Witbooi chieftaincy hangs in balance\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-08T17:45:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-08T17:58:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\"},\"wordCount\":703,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2021\/10\/img-61608684691ae.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"balance\",\"namibia\",\"Witbooi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/witbooi-chieftaincy-hangs-in-balance\",\"name\":\"Witbooi chieftaincy hangs in balance - 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