Windhoek
A 62-year-old pensioner was left homeless after he was forcefully removed from the farm where he has lived and worked for ten years.
Johannes Uaroua, his wife and their children and grandchildren were evicted from Farm Resthoff in the Kamanjab area after the owner sold it to government.
Uaroua told New Era that when the previous owner sold the farm he hoped he could stay longer while arranging for a place to stay, but that did not happen as he was “forcefully removed from the farm without notification,” by government officials.
“I was hoping to stay at the farm while looking for another place to stay, because when the precious owner told me that he left I did not have much time to look for a place of my own,” said Uaroua.
He claims that the manner in which he was evicted by the officials was cruel. “They treated me very badly. They did not give me any notice. They just told me to go while using force and in the process I lost my belongings and some of my livestock. I also lost my dogs and chickens,” Uaroua said.
He said living in Kamanjab is hard for a person who has lived on a farm.
“I go from house to house in search of a roof over my head. I have arranged for temporary accommodation for my family, while I struggle to get a permanent place to live with my family,” said Uaroua.
In response to questions regarding this case the public relations officer at the Ministry of Land Reform, Chrispin Matongela, said the ministry is not privy to the arrangements with the previous owner of the farm.
“All we can advise the former farmworker to do is to approach the Labour Commissioner for recourse,” said Matongela.