Lahja Nashuuta
Jaqueline Kerina, daughter of the late Professor Mburumba Kerina, is fighting tooth and nail to retain her father’s resettlement farm, Farm Renette No. 232.
This is after the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform issued a lease cancellation notice last year.
Kerina left behind a government-allotted resettlement farm in the Dordabis area of the Khomas region, amongst other assets. The Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act allows the executor of a deceased lessee’s estate to assign lease rights to another individual, subject to ministerial approval based on recommendations from the Land Reform Advisory Commission (LRAC).
However, Jaqueline said this process was delayed due to internal family disputes and the prolonged finalisation of her father’s estate by the Master of the High Court.
Despite her ongoing requests to be appointed caretaker of the farm pending the conclusion of the estate, New Era has learnt that the government has officially cancelled the lease for Unit A of Farm Renette No. 232.
Cancellation
In a letter dated 6 January 2024 and seen by New Era, former Khomas governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua, then serving as chairperson of the Khomas Regional Resettlement Committee, informed Jaqueline that the farm had remained vacant since Kerina’s passing. Jaqueline denied this assertion.
McLeod-Katjirua then advised Jaqueline to apply for inheritance rights over the lease if she was interested in taking over the unit.
The letter cited Section 53 of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act, and urged her to submit her application and required documentation to the Division of Land Reform within 14 days. This section addresses the handling of lease agreements following the death or mental incapacity of a lessee.
“I am kindly urging you to submit your application with the necessary documents to Division: Land Reform for consideration within fourteen (14) days upon receipt of this letter,” the letter reads.
In a separate letter dated 4 August 2024, former Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein notified Jaqueline of the official cancellation of the lease agreement over the farm measuring 1 443.8967 hectares.
The letter instructed her to return the original allotment letter and lease agreement within 30 days to deputy director Clement Kwala at the Khomas Regional Council.
Section 53(1) of the Act provides that upon a lessee’s death, the executor of the estate may assign the lease to an approved individual, subject to the minister’s written consent on the recommendation of the LRAC. In the meantime, the executor may continue the lease on behalf of the estate.
The ministry contends that Kerina failed to comply with Section 55(3) of the same Act, which requires the assignment of the lease within three months of the executor’s appointment, or within an extended period granted by the minister. The deadline, extended to 5 January 2024, allegedly lapsed without compliance, triggering the lease cancellation. Jaqueline, however, insists that she acted within the law.
She told New Era that she submitted all required documents on time, and had consistently sought formal caretaker status since her father’s passing in 2021. Jaqueline stressed that delays in appointing an executor were obstructing the legal transfer of lease rights.
She said the estate is still not finalised, and that the Master of the High Court has not yet issued a letter of executorship. In the interim, she submitted numerous written appeals to the ministry requesting ministerial approval to manage the farm under Section 53(2) of the Act. It appears, however, her appeals fell on deaf ears.
New Era has seen a 2021 letter from Jaqueline to the ministry, also copied to the Khomas Governor, in which she requested interim authority to safeguard the farm. She cited livestock theft, illegal hunting, overgrazing and unregulated charcoal production as urgent threats.
Invasion
In another letter addressed to Kwala in 2022, Jaqueline reported that her father’s former driver had unlawfully occupied the farm. She claimed he was allegedly authorised by her older sibling, Kakuna Nadine Kerina, a citizen of the United States.
Jaqueline accused the ex-driver of blocking her access to the farm, vandalising infrastructure, stealing equipment and fencing materials as well as damaging solar water systems.
One borehole reportedly became inoperable after key components were stolen.
Although a police case for trespassing was opened, Jaqueline claims the former driver continues to occupy the farm and defy orders.
“He told the police that not even the ministry, the governor, or the Swapo Party can remove him because he received rights from the U.S.,” she stated in her complaint.
In further communication with the ministry, Jaqueline stressed that delays in appointing an executor were obstructing the legal transfer of lease rights. She reiterated her request for caretaker status to settle outstanding lease fees, protect the property, and maintain the unit until the estate is finalised.
“I am committed to the proper care and development of the unit. It is critical that the farm be responsibly managed during this legal transition,” she wrote.
Right of reply
Attempts to obtain official comment from the ministry and former minister Schlettwein this week were unsuccessful at the time of publication. Instead, Schlettwein referred enquiries to the ministry’s executive director.
Jaqueline now fears losing her father’s legacy due to bureaucratic delays and unresolved family conflict, despite her efforts to preserve and protect the farm.
“I made it clear I am willing to manage, maintain and develop the farm responsibly while awaiting the conclusion of the estate process. This farm is part of my father’s legacy and, by extension, Namibia’s,” she stated.
Mburumba Kerina
Kerina left a rich political legacy, also being the author of various books such as ‘Namibia – The Making of a Nation’, and ‘Chief Hosea Kutako, the Chief and Legend’. He is likewise credited with coining the name Namibia.
He served as a consulting lecturer in the United States of America in 1979, and was an associate professor in the African Studies’ department at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York from 1972 to 1975.
Kerina studied for his PhD in Political Science at the Padjadjaran University of Bandung, Indonesia from 1960 to 1962 in legal courses, following his law studies at the American Extension School of Law in Chicago, Illinois from 1953 to 1957.
He was one of the founding members of Swapo, a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1989 for the Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN), and served as a Member of Parliament (National Assembly) for the FCN and, in later years, for the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo).
He was furthermore a member of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), and served as a DTA member of the National Council, and that party’s councillor for the Aminuis Constituency from 1998 to 2003.
He rejoined Swapo in 2010.
President Hage Geingob conferred a state funeral on Kerina in 2021.
lnashuuta@nepc.com.na