Ongwediva
A 72-year-old communal farmer at Oshikukutu village in the Oshikoto Region lost a herd of 63 cattle after a senior headman in the Ondonga Traditional Authority allegedly split his farm and sold one section, confining the complainant to one portion, which is without sufficient water for his livestock.
The elderly Jason Nghishipolainande says his cattle succumbed one by one to thirst after his land was dubiously cut in half and sold by a senior headman from the Ondanga Trational Authority on the grounds that the land he occupied was not Nghishipolainande’s.
Nghishipolainande is adamant that his cattle died because the senior headman demarcated his land and ensured he was restricted to the portion of the communal farm with very little grass and very little water.
The latest land dispute centres on Oshikukutu village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ondanga Traditional Authority in Oshikoto Region.
Nghishipolainande says he has lived at Oshikukutu village since 1992 where he engaged in communal livestock farming after he acquired land in the Onalusheshete communal area that falls under Ondonga Traditional Authority.
He says his piece of land was recently demarcated without his consent and that a fence dividing the area was erected at night.
By the time his cattle herders saw the fence it was too late and he had to accept the situation.
He also claims workers employed by the farmer to whom his land was sold slaughtered one of his oxen and burnt the remains in the forest to mask their crime.
Asked if he has reported the case to the Oshivelo police, Nghishipolainde said he had reported the case, but apparently the police told him they do not deal with “simple cases” of livestock theft, but only cases involving criminals.
He said the police from Oshivelo also visited his farm, but refused to register his complaint, causing him to believe the law enforcement officers may be favouring the accused.
“ I now feel discriminated against, just because I speak Oshikwanyama and settled in Ondonga traditional area. “That is why my fellow Oshindonga [headman] resells my land,” lamented the communal livestock farmer, who says his herd of 63 cattle have died since December. Nghishipolainande owns about 700 cattle, but on top of the 63 that died from thirst some of his cattle also disappeared, he says, without a trace. “I’m urging the traditional authority to either remove that fence from the farm, otherwise I will demand [compensation for] my animals from them,” he said.
Gabriel Munguli, the person to whom one portion of the split farm was sold, could not be reached on his mobile. The senior traditional leader involved in the land deal, Josef Asino, said he could not comment as he was travelling at the time of the request for clarification.