RUNDU – An attempt to evict hundreds of squatters who have settled along Cuma road in Rundu failed yesterday after residents blocked the deputy court sheriff from carrying out his work.
The squatters refused to allow the court messenger and his colleagues to do their work, even in the presence of the police who were called in to maintain law and order.
“We are not going to allow them, and we are going to request a meeting with the council this week, which the messenger of court must also attend,” said one committee member, Bethold Wakudumo.
The group of residents along Cuma road on the outskirts of Rundu have been on that land ever since they first occupied it in August last year.
People involved in the occupation of the piece of land argue that their plea for serviced land from the Rundu Town Council fell on deaf ears, prompting them to grab the property in order to settle their landless families.
Rundu Town Council acting CEO Herman Haingura said he just heard of the failed activity.
“I just heard that they were going to evict people and it failed, the messenger must now give a report to the court that he failed to implement,” Haingura said.
The council’s initial position was that those who grabbed land at Cuma road should not settle there.
However, the council orders were defied by the squatters.
“People refused and council then had no option but to pursue a court order through a government attorney. The court order was granted and it was sent to the deputy sheriff, messenger of court to execute it, that is his job which the court entrusted him,” said Haingura.
“In regard to this issue, the first option was to talk and resolve the matter with the illegal inhabitants but it didn’t materialise; they decided that they were not going to move and they continued to allocate land without council involvement and we don’t know where they got that right from, so we decided to follow the legal procedure and that is where it ended,” he added.