Ongwediva
A young woman from Okamukwa village is accusing a deputy headman of having sold the same piece of land twice – to her and another person.
John Amutenya, the deputy headman of Okaku village, is the person accused of having sold the same piece of land initially to the complainant and then to another buyer.
Albertina Shilikomwenyo says she bought the piece of land from Amutenya in 2010 but was shocked to hear last Wednesday from her aunt that another person was building on the land.
The other person claims to have bought the same piece of land that was sold to Shilikomwenyo.
Shilikomwenyo says she bought a nine-square metre piece of land for business purposes to help her family, as she is hardly at home because of her work .
According to Shilikomwenyo, six years ago her aunt approached her about the available piece of land at Omamwandi cuca-shops and she gave her aunt the money to buy the plot.
Deputy headman Amutenya however says that Shilikomwenyo had not been at home for a long time to see what was going on, hence she is prone to believe hearsay and untruths from her family.
He says that Shilikomwenyo had built two cuca-shops at the same location but they have not been operating since 2011, while there are other people that want to use the land for business.
Shilikomwenyo has not utilised her 20-square metre plot “that she acquired by luck”, he adds.
He further alleges the issue is not about land, but rather a shade net which he gave to Shilikomwenyo in 2010 and has now taken back from her. According to Amutenya, Shilikomwenyo called him and threatened that she would complain to the land authorities.
However, Shilikomwenyo’s aunt Teresia Iipinge explained that the two cuca-shops are very much open for business. She says she went to Shilikomwenyo’s plot last Tuesday and to her surprise the shade net was removed. There was also a new cuca-shop on her niece’s plot.
She also claims that the shade net belongs to Shilikomwenyo and is not the property of the headman’s right hand man.
Iipinge says that part of her niece’s plot has been sold and this is a matter of corruption.
She says she has the receipt to prove ownership of the land and admits to calling Shilikomwenyo and informing her of the matter.
New Era contacted the village headman Toivo Salom, who claims that he was not involved in the sale as he was not around at the time Shilikomwenyo bought the land.
He however urged Shilikomwenyo to consult the traditional authorities to solve the dispute.