WINDHOEK – After six years of running court battles the Ovambanderu community are set to inaugurate Kilus Nguvauva as their Chief this coming weekend.
Nguvauva the Deputy Minister of Works and Transport will replace his father the late Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II, who died in 2008.
Nguvauva is the second eldest son of the late Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II.
The weekend’s inauguration comes after High Court Judge Collins Parker last month ordered the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development (Rtd) Major-General Charles Namoloh to approve the application of Kilus Nguvauva as the rightful chief of the Ovambanderu.
The chieftaincy battle started after Kilus Nguvauva the half-brother to Keharanjo Nguvauva lodged an application with the ministry seeking the same recognition as the duly designated candidate for the Ovambanderu chieftaincy.
Keharanjo hanged himself at a flat in Khomasdal on April 8, 2011.
Kilus Nguvauva then approached the High Court with an application in which he asked the court to instruct Namoloh to approve his application with no further delay.
After Keharanjo’s death, Aletha Nguvauva – Keharanjo’ s mother – was inaugurated by another faction and supporters as the queen of the Ovambanderu people.
This move led to another legal battle in the Supreme Court between Kilus and his stepmother.
Kilus emerged victorious from the Supreme Court legal wrangle on June 18 2013 when the court dismissed an appeal application by Aletha and senior councillor of the Ovambanderu Traditional Authority, Erastus Kahuure.
At the time, the Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to support their claim on succession in terms of the right to intervene in the counter-application brought by Kilus.
The two (Aletha and Erastus) brought the unsuccessful appeal application before the Supreme Court after they were denied permission by the Windhoek High Court to join a case which was earlier brought before court by Keharanjo alone.
The inauguration will take place at the Ovambanderu Commando No 1 well known as Omimbondevitano in Omaue-jozonjanda, Epukiro in Omaheke Region.
Contacted for comment yesterday Ovambanderu spokesperson, Uazenga Ngahahe-Tjiposa, confirmed to New Era that the inauguration will take place as planned.
“This will be a historic event after a long battle in court, so I urge all of us to attend in big numbers,” he said.
Ngahahe appealed to community members not to use this platform to provoke others but as a platform to promote unification.
By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa