Thousands of Ovaherero Traditional Authority loyalists and spectators will have their eyes squarely fixed on Erongo’s Otjimbingwe settlement to witness the election and coronation of OTA’s ombara otjitambi (paramount chief).

The highly anticipated event will see politicians McHenry Venaani and Mike Kavekotora and academic Hoze Riruako contest for the coveted position.

Details on the event were confirmed by OTA’s interim spokesperson, Uazuva Kaumbi this week. 

Kaumbi also speaks on behalf of Ovitoto chief, Vipuira Kapuuo, who is the OTA’s chairperson.

“We are ready for Otjimbingwe. The main days being Friday and Saturday. We expect the guests and participants to arrive on Friday when we will have a closed session on administrative
matters. 

On Saturday, we will have an open session where the media will be allowed before heading for the election,” Kaumbi said.

He said at least 480 delegates from the about 29 constituencies of the OTA will decide the authority’s fate at the ballot on Saturday.

“Each constituency sends a 14-member delegation to the senate,” he said, noting that the senate is the highest decision-making body in the OTA.

Two chiefs

When it is all said and done, the OTA will likely have two paramount chiefs by Sunday.

This is so because, apart from the group led by Kapuuo, which will be electing a chief to fill the void left by Vekuii Rukoro in Otjimbingwe on Saturday, another OTA faction has already endorsed academic Mutjinde Katjiua as their paramount chief, replacing Rukoro, who died in 2021. The two groups do not recognise either’s authority or existence.  

Under Katjiua’s command, the OTA will convene an event on Saturday to provide an update on the genocide matter which is currently being litigated in the local courts.

Kaumbi is unperturbed by their opponents.

“According to them, they are done with this process [and have elected a chief]. I don’t see any indications of hostility between the groups… but we always notify the police when having events like these. If there is private security needed, it will be provided,” Kaumbi said.  

In the months leading to the election, New Era has tried to profile the three candidates with a view to gauge their vision for the authority. This paper only secured an interview with Kavekotora, while Riruako declined to be interviewed, citing that it would not have any bearing on the eventual outcome of the election.

Last week, Venaani said, “I will alert you.”

History 

Among the Ovaherero folklore, Otjimbingwe is known as, Ondjiuo ja Kasari Kozonongo ndja tungwa novitenda, owa ndja kaija omiti. 

Roughly translated, it refers to a mysterious intellectual residence made from metal while others are made from wood.   

The gathering, Kaumbi hastened to say, will be historic, whichever way it is looked at.

It was in Otjimbingwe 160 years ago, in 1863 when the OTA was birthed and the first PC elected. That year, the Ovaherero decided to come under one military umbrella, so as to face their opponents as a unit front, Kaumbi reminisced. “This year will mark 160 years of Otjiserandu, when the Ovaherero decided to have one centralised authority, particularly on the military front as we were waging wars against the Namas. It was in Otjimbingwe where Maharero ua Tjamuaha was crowned as ombara. Before then, the Ovaherero were led on clan-basis and there was no central authority,” he narrated.

So far, the three candidates have been working behind the scenes to secure their votes ahead of the weekend’s crescendo, albeit without much fanfare. “The people [candidates] just kept it lowkey, unlike the Swapo campaigns where people had to go to every region. They were simply meeting various constituents for support on their own,” Kaumbi said, describing the process as smooth.  The trio were nominated at a chiefs council meeting in September last year at Ozombuzovindimba in Otjinene. 

Ozombuzovindimba is where Lothar von Trotha issued an extermination order against the Ovaherero in October 1904.  

-emumbuu@nepc.com.na