Tsumeb
A group of farm workers – including a number of San families – who were evicted from Farm Berg Aukas on Monday have rejected an offer to be resettled temporarily at a municipal area in Grootfontein.
They say they need a place where they can settle undisturbed, instead of temporary places wherefrom they can be evicted at any time. They further complained that they will be far from the places where their children attend school and thus the temporary move would affect their children’s performance at school.
Grootfontein Regional Councillor Nelao Amugulu said the municipality had offered her office a piece of land behind the army base, where the group can in the meantime be resettled with their animals.
A question mark still hangs over the fate of their animals though, as they are liable to be auctioned off by the farm owner, Dr Peingondjabi Shipoh, Namibia’s High Commissioner to Nigeria.
The auction of around 500 animals is scheduled for Friday February 19 – a move taken by the diplomat to recover losses he reportedly incurred, estimated at N$80 000.
In response to a report on the eviction in yesterday’s edition of New Era, Shipoh said it was misleading, because not only the San, but also people from other ethnic groups, are affected by the eviction.
Shipoh acquired the farm in 2011, but has been struggling to get rid of the group comprising the San families and other ethnic groups who have lived on the property since 1988.
“To my surprise the group refused to move to the offered piece of land, stating that they want an area where they can stay permanently and cultivate crops. Further, they told me that they are scared to move to the suggested area, because they don’t have any assurance of how long they will live there before they are evicted, a situation which they do not want to ever encounter [again],” Amagulu explained.
Meanwhile, Julietha Shimbojo, a spokesperson for the destitute group, said they refused because the area belongs to the municipality and they have no power over it considering that there are already people living on that piece of land.
“The area is too small and we will not even fit with our animals, which are approximately 500, and the people also are a lot. We’ve already suffered at the hands of landlords and we don’t want to experience the same scenario with the municipality,” said Shimbojo.
“Government must solve our problem, because we have been reporting our situation to them but nothing has been done. Now we are in this deplorable condition because of them for offering the solution late,” she said, adding that after their eviction on Monday they were drenched by rain that entire night.
“We will stay here until the government has resolved our issue,” she said.
Despite good Samaritans and the councillor’s office providing food items, the group says they will soon be without water, as the water provided to them by the municipality is almost depleted.
The closest place they can obtain water from is the Youth Centre under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, but the administrators reportedly refused to assist the group when approached by Councillor Amagulu.