By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
The Namibian police were last week called to Kransneus, a farm about 35 km south of Windhoek, to stop a group of people from settling on what they claim is their ancestral land.
Owner of the land, Jan Jacobs, said a number of illegal squatters had set up shacks on his land about a week ago and refused to budge.
Jacobs bought 820 hectares of the 2 400 hectares in 2001 that formerly belonged to two brothers, Albert Urion and Arrie Beukes.
Since then, ownership of the farm has been bitterly disputed by communal farmers in the area, and protracted clashes have occurred between Jacobs and the squatters.
“They are claiming all parts of the farm,” said Jacobs.
“Is this his land?” questioned Hendrik Engelbrecht, one of the people who have settled on the farm.
He claimed that Jacobs had bought the farm “behind closed doors” and used underhanded methods to get hold of the farm.
“I was born and bred on this land. This is our ancestral land; our graves are here,” said Engelbrecht.
The community has previously claimed that the farm belongs to the Namibian Government. In 2004, they staged a demonstration and handed over a petition to Alfred Angula of the Namibian Farmworkers’ Union, to launch an investigation into the ownership of the land.
The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement has also been called to intervene in the matter, but, said Jacobs, no feedback has been given.
At the heart of the contention is that Jacob’s portion of the land has not been demarcated yet.
The communal farmers have set up zinc shacks about seven kilometres from Jacob’s farmhouse.
“We will not move; this will be a very tough fight,” said Engelbrecht, while bemoaning the lands ministry’s tardiness in handling the matter.
“Is it because we are Damara-speaking that the ministry takes its time on the matter? There will be serious repercussions if the matter is not resolved soon.”
“These settlers must prove the injustice. The law must take its course,” said Jacobs.
A legal case is pending to determine ownership of the land.