OKAHUNGU – Chief Stefanus Gariseb of the Damara /Gobanin Traditional Authority at Okahungu in Otjinene says relations between his community and the Ovaherero-speaking residents in the area are still strained.
He says the strained relationship is due to the fact the Ovaherero continue insisting the Damaras at Okahungu do not belong to that area and should rather “go back to Khorixas”.
Gariseb said despite his attempts to harmonise relations between communities in the area of his jurisdiction, Ovaherero traditional leaders apparently refuse to speak to him.
“We were living together in harmony. Politics drove us apart,” lamented Gariseb who suggests if peace is to prevail in the area the /Gobanin will restrict themselves to the 300 hectares of land left after their impolite neighbours allegedly annexed more than 200 hectares of land belonging to them.
He said that his lawyer also encouraged him to speak to the Ovaherero communities, but they are adamant that the /Gobanin are from Khorixas and have no right to settle in Okahungu, despite the fact they have inhabited that area since1959 when the land was given to them by the colonial administration.
Gariseb said that two years ago, they received 118 cattle from the Namibia-German Special Initiative Programme (NGSIP), but because the area is not fenced, their neighbours stole a large number of their cows.
“We tried to speak to them and also reported the matter to the police, but nothing came of it,” Gariseb told New Era.
To make matters worse, many of the cattle were apparently already sick or ate poisonous plants in the area, bringing the number of cattle left to a meagre 58.
/Gobanin traditional leader, Willem Mamulek, said that whoever got the contract to buy the cattle apparently bought without looking at the health of the cattle but the drought of 2013 also exacted a huge toll.
“We told the Germans that they gave us too few cattle, because of the 80 households living in the area, each only got three cows,” said Mamulek.
On other matters, Gariseb said they started a gardening project three years ago to plant beans and corn for self-sustenance.
He said that one of the major problems they encounter is the dilapidated road and thick forest that make it almost impossible to travel.
Gariseb said they have reported the matter to the Governor of Omaheke, Festus Ueitele, but so far nothing has come of it and on two occasions, cars collided head on, while a truck also got stuck in the thick sand.
“During the rainy season, the bush gets thick and people travelling in opposite directions can’t see each other,” he said.
By Magreth Nunuhe