Albertina Nakale

John Muyamba

KATIMA MULILO – Khwe designated chief Thaddeus Chedau has criticised the delays in his application to be the leader of his community within the Bwabwata National Park. The Khwe have lived in the park since time immemorial.

“I think the delay is from the government and the Hambukushu Traditional Authority. The delay leaves the Khwe out of development. Without a gazetted traditional authority, no one can speak to government authorities or address the community’s development needs. The same people in the traditional authority are in government offices. When our application comes, the same people discuss it, and ensure it is rejected by the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, causing delays,” he said in an interview on Friday.

Hambukushu traditional authorities, however, rejected the suggestion of another chief, claiming that the Khwe Traditional Authority cannot be established within their ancestral boundaries. 

This contradicts the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, supported by the environment ministry, which gave the Khwe permission to have their chief. 

The Hambukushu have since written to President Nangolo Mbumba to intervene.

The Khwe living within Bwabwata also threatened to boycott the upcoming national elections if their designated chief is not recognised by the government. 

This follows ongoing disputes between the Khwe and the Hambukushu over the matter, preventing the marginalised San-speaking communities within Bwabwata (both in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions) from having a chief despite having a designated leader. 

The community has already submitted their candidate to the government for recognition.

“I don’t know what the law says, but I question why the Hambukushu Traditional Authority is more important than the country’s laws?” Chedau said.

Activist Kaseta Khumalo, representing the Khwe youth, says the delay is hindering development within the community. 

“The concern we have, as a youth, is the high unemployment rate in our community. If we had our constituency office, issues like high unemployment could have been addressed. I want to ask the president what portfolio Chief Erwin Munika Mbambo holds in the government. Why is he trying to be superior to everyone? He went too far. As youth, we are left confused about his role,” he questioned.

The youth threaten to camp at the Urban and Rural Development ministry’s offices if their concerns are not addressed soon. 

“Let the minister [Erastus Uutoni] know that we are ready to camp at his office. He should expect us in two weeks if we do not get a response. We will camp until we get a response, and will leave only then. We are tired of being treated like slaves. We cannot continue like this anymore,” he charged.

Another youth activist Diveru Kapinga read the petition on behalf of the Khwe chieftaincy committee within Bwabwata, which was handed over to the office of the Zambezi governor. 

Kapinga said the committee believes the Khwe could have achieved much more if those in power had not acted in a “subjective and repressive” manner towards them since independence.

“We are within the constitutional framework of our country to ask for the designation of our traditional leader. We have our own distinct indigenous language and knowledge, showing that we are not part of the Hambukushu community. We are not asking for a favour or privilege but for our rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The repressive and prejudiced practices are nothing but discrimination based on ethnic origin. What prevents our leaders from being constitutionally recognised and designated?” the committee reacted.

The community claims that the actual problems lie within regional and local government spheres and traditional authorities. 

“The Kavango East region is at the heart of our sufferings. The composition of the regional and local governments does not reflect all the different inhabitants of the constituencies,” Kapinga said. 

However, they applauded the Zambezi Regional Council for working closely with them, and supporting them with developmental projects.

“The governor, Lawrence Sampofu, has timely received and recommended our chief recognition application. We are in harmony with the four traditional authorities in the Zambezi region,” the committee said. 

They feel the Hambukushu Traditional Authority and the Kavango East Regional Council are not listening to their pleas.

They further lamented that as a minority group, they are always overlooked and excluded from crucial decision-making and authoritative government structures, which they argue is their democratic right. 

They claim that it is the government’s responsibility to uplift disadvantaged and vulnerable community members. 

Therefore, the Khwe are demanding to have their constituency called ‘Bwabwata Constituency’, led by their leaders. 

They also want to fall under the Zambezi Regional Council’s jurisdiction. 

Issues they face include water scarcity, lack of developmental projects and lack of rural electrification.

The community is pleading with President Nangolo Mbumba to intervene in the matter, as they remain in limbo regarding their designated chief.

“We cannot tolerate that. It is our area. They can go look for their area, but not Bwabwata. There are people behind the Khwe. We have lived with them, and they have headmen who are subjects to Hambukushu. All these years, we never had problems, but now there are people with various interests influencing them,” said Freddy Rugharo, chairperson of the Hambukushu Chiefs Council.

“We saw the Khwe petitioning at the Zambezi Regional Council building. Even though they are not happy, they belong to the Kavango East region, and they were supposed to come to our regional council and governor with their petition – not to petition outside the region,” he said.

Rugharo said Bwabwata would forever remain under the Hambukushu even if it is demarcated to be under Zambezi. 

“What stands now is that Bwabwata belongs to the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, and every enquiry should go through that or the Kavango East Regional Council – not other authorities outside the Hambukushu Traditional Authority. What they did is interfere with the issue of jurisdiction, and I think the Zambezi Regional Council is interfering. They must just say what the issue is,” he said.

Rugharo said the Delimitation and Demarcation Commission just concluded their consultations, and people fighting for Bwabwata should wait for the outcomes. 

“Everybody wants their territory extended, but we are law-abiding citizens. We must just wait. Even if they say the demarcation should start where they (Zambezi) are requesting, we will also enquire. But what is happening now is just provocation,” he stated.

“But even if they extend, that will be the political boundary, but the traditional boundaries will remain where they are, and Bwabwata will remain with us. Even if they change the name, it will remain in the Hambukushu Traditional Authority,” he said.

New Era tried to obtain comments from the Zambezi Regional governor, Lawrence Sampofu, but his phone went unanswered.

-anakale@nepc.com.na

(Chief)

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