MUKWE – The Hambukushu Traditional Authority has questioned why the Prime Minister’s Office, the Urban and Rural Development Ministry, and the Zambezi governor turned a blind eye to the fact that it has jurisdiction over the area where they are planning to designate the Khwe Traditional Authority.
Bwabwata National Park, where the Khwe community resides, is shared between Kavango East and Zambezi regions.
“Why should the Zambezi governor and the Office of the Prime Minister facilitate such a significant matter while turning a blind eye to consult the Hambukushu Traditional Authority and the Kavango East governor?’’ questioned HTA in a letter addressed to President Nangolo Mbumba.
In the letter, HTA has also asked Mbumba to intervene.
“Surprisingly, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism supported the go-ahead for the establishment of Khwe Traditional Authority within Bwabwata National Park as per its letter dated 6 February 2024. It is fully aware that the Hambukushu Traditional Authority has petitioned the Speaker of the National Assembly on the management of Bwabwata National Park, which is under its jurisdiction, such petition has been attended to by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs as of 14 March 2022 and it is ongoing with summons and consultations with relevant stakeholders,’’ reads the letter to Mbumba seen by New Era.
The letter went on to say: “If such a petition was brought forth by the Hambukushu Traditional Authority against the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, why should the same ministry ignore the
existence of the Hambukushu traditional community in the Bwabwata National Park? Another typical example is that the same ministry awarded a tourism concession right to the Hambukushu community in Bwabwata National Park as a recognition that the Hambukushu have jurisdiction over Bwabwata”.
During a community engagement where the Hambukushu subjects were called to be informed of the current developments, the traditional authority said they were expecting an intervention on the matter as urgent, and requested the President to condemn “this illegal act perpetuated by our mother ministry.”
They said that what the ministry is doing in establishing the Khwe Traditional Authority within their jurisdiction will create confusion and division among the peace-loving inhabitants of Bwabwata, namely the Hambukushu and Khwe communities.
During the recent Independence Day celebration in Katima Mulilo, the Zambezi traditional leaders met with the head of State and advocated moving their regional boundary from where it currently is, somewhere in Bwabwata into Kavango East regions.
-jmuyamba@nepc.com.na