To start with, we want to express a serious concern that our landlessness cries will fall on death ears. It is quite evident that Namibia’s landlessness issues will continue to be handled by politicians, government backed traditional authorities, the elite, those with power, money, resources and influence.
More than three decades after Namibia’s independence and we continue to be a post-independent, disadvantaged community living as marginalised people on our ancestral land. Squatting in makeshift shacks in Windhoek’s informal areas and places like Dordabis, Groot Aub and the likes.
As we speak, we have Heward Benny Skrywer living in the corridor at Aris on the D 1463 road after he was chased away from farm Ungunfeld in July 2018. Benny was born on that farm and has been living and working on that farm for his entire life.
We want to know from President Hage Geingob and the Namibian government, until when are we going to be disadvantaged and marginalised in our own motherland?.
Not a single person from Gubagub has benefited from Namibia’s resettlement programme, let alone at least group resettlement. We will always maintain that some Namibian tribes who never lost their ancestral land continue to be favoured by the system to own land in the Khomas and other regions.
Land which our forefathers unjustifiably lost, at the hands of the apartheid South African and German colonial regimes. More than 80 000 hectares of land in South East Windhoek Rural (Gubagub River Area) is in the hands of a few previously advantaged white minorities, yet descendants of the rightful owners of this land don’t even own a piece to grow vegetables or raise chickens.
Why can’t the land be shared since it’s big or must the land only be availed to the political elite, those with power, resources, money and influence? As a community that is landless, especially farmland, we shall continue with more demonstrations once the Covid-19 measures are relaxed. We have nowhere else to go and nowhere we shall go.
We must be returned to our ancestral land where the graves of our parents, grandparents and forefathers are. Our motto, which is “Land for Heritage-Land for Socio-Economic Justice (Development)” will continue to guide us in our quest for land (farmland). We will continue fighting for the return of what is rightfully ours until even the return of Jesus Christ.
- Gubagub Landless Community