WINDHOEK- There are advanced plans by the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement to resettle the / Khomanin community who were evicted last year from a private farm in the Khomas Region, following a misunderstanding between an elderly woman and the farm owner over alleged stock theft.
Maria van Rooi a pensioner and her daughter, Ida Rooi, and her five young children were evicted from farm Friedental No. 992 in the Khomas Hochland area, after Ida Rooi laid a charge of stock theft against the farm owner, Anton Loubscher.
At the time, Maria’s daughter claimed that Loubscher sold at least 60 goats belonging to her mother and he did not pay her any money.
However, the farm owner rubbished any wrongdoing saying there was no evidence to incriminate him since he provided all the receipts for the sold goats to the police.
Ida’s mother was born on the farm as well as her late parents who also worked there and were buried on the farm.
In retaliation, Loubscher obtained an eviction order from the High Court and evicted the family from his farm, saying he could not live with people who wanted to see him in jail.
The family was dumped in the corridor leading to the farm, with their movable property, which consist of a few beds, a cupboard, their clothing and bedding.
Since then, the /Khomanin people who have been exposed to harsh conditions in the corridor have been yearning for a place to call their home.
However, on Monday the Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Alpheus !Naruseb, accompanied by his staff, paid Loubscher a visit to familiarise himself with the current situation on the ground regarding the evicted family.
Loubscher said the situation had not changed and that there was no way he would allow the Rooi family back on his farm after they tarnished his name by laying criminal charges against him for a crime he “did not commit”.
“Maria was never legally allowed to stay on the farm. She was never permanently employed here. When my late father died, he never left any document stating that she must stay on the farm forever. It was purely goodwill, and now to put me in a bad light and lay criminal charges against me, they cannot stay here anymore,” Loubscher said when asked if he would consider taking the family back in.
After a brief fruitless consultation between Loubscher and !Naruseb, the lands minister drove to a nearby government owned farm called Welgemoed where he evaluated the situation for possible relocation of the /Khomanin people.
“There are advanced plans to resettle them on farm Welgemoed. My visit here was focused on getting information from Loubscher, the owner of the farm from which Maria and her family were evicted. I got Maria’s version two weeks ago already, so I wanted first hand information. Having accessed the situation on the government farm, I am of the opinion to resettle Maria and those people I saw in the corridor,” the minister revealed.
By Albertina Nakale