WALVIS BAY – Embattled Dâure Daman Traditional Authority chief Sagarias Seibeb has poured cold water over his alleged toppling, maintaining he is very much in charge.
Seibeb has been accused of sowing division within the community and mishandling its resources.
His response comes after the community, in a meeting held earlier, unanimously decided to remove him and replace him with Issaskar Tourob, a former teacher.
In statement addressing the accusations, Seibeb countered the claims.
“There is a group of disgruntled elderly tribesmen in the community who use their children to masquerade as concerned youth demanding services from the authority,” he said.
He added that this group, which he estimated to include only 10 to 20 individuals, does not represent a significant portion of the Dâure Daman community.
Seibeb also pointed out that the group had previously petitioned the Ministry of Mines and Energy as well as the rural minister, accusing the traditional authority of “selling them out”.
Last week, he denied any wrongdoing in a statement signed by his daughter, who he allegedly appointed as his secretary.
The same daughter is also being accused of allegedly handling the financial affairs of the Dâure Daman, which is currently a bone of contention among the community members.
The chief has been accused of turning the traditional authority into a family business.
However, he maintained that these allegations were investigated, and the ministries provided answers that the group was dissatisfied with, leading them to adopt new tactics to remove him from power.
Citing Section 18 of the Traditional Authorities Act, Seibeb argued that any removal of a leader must be done through a communal court with disciplinary hearings and concrete evidence of misconduct.
“Misconduct goes along with disciplinary hearings, which can only be called by the communal court, and a charge laid with proof,” he said.
Despite mounting pressure, Seibeb highlighted that he met young and elderly community members to propose business initiatives aimed at uplifting the community.
“We are also in the final stages of submitting benefit-sharing agreements with all the business operators in the jurisdictional area, to ensure that the indigenous people do not lose out on the extraction of their natural resources,” he said.
Meanwhile, community member Jimmy Areseb recently told New Era that over 300 people have already signed a petition demanding Seibeb’s ousting, with more signatures expected to be collected from surrounding towns. Areseb denied Seibeb’s claims that the movement was driven by a small group of elderly individuals.
“No young people are being used. It’s not about what the leadership is saying, it’s about what customary law says,” he stated.
He further noted that their grievances are rooted in three key issues: gross violations of customary law, allegations of misconduct, and what he described as “ongoing bad habits” by the leadership.
“We keep focusing on the fact that they have grossly violated the law, Areseb said. If the leadership claims they haven’t, and there has been feedback from the ministry, they should provide that information to the media, as we haven’t received any.”
He added that they carried out their activities according to customary law and are just waiting for confirmation to complete the forms that need to be submitted to the ministry.
Furthermore, chairperson of the Council of Traditional Authorities, Chief Immanuel /Gaseb, said chiefs are advised not to employ their relatives in traditional offices as it always causes conflict.
“I have been advising against it at all times. I have told the leaders not to involve their children or relatives in the running of the financial affairs of traditional authorities. They should not even have signing rights when it comes to the finances of traditional affairs. The Act is clear that the chief should handle all this,” he said.
He also called on traditional leaders to continuously engage the community to avoid disunity and mistrust.