Maj. Gen. (Rtd) JB Tjivikua
When the legendary Chief Samuel Katjiikumbua Maharero was installed as the first Paramount Chief of Ovaherero people in the year 1863 at Otjizingue (Otjimbingue), in South West Africa, now Namibia, during the intense conflict with the Nama people, it was purposefully done to fortify unity among various Ovaherero communities, to end the war and bring about peace with the Nama people.
Ovaherero is a large homogeneous body of people, united by common descent, history, culture, customs, traditions and language, and together with other social groups, lay a solid foundation for Namibia’s social and cultural fabric.
Over the past decade or so, relationships among various factions of Ovaherero communities have been characterised by bickering, backbiting, insults and infighting. This is evidenced through recent perennial High Court battles in strenuous attempts to dethrone or usurp a leader of a traditional authority or ostensibly settle violent disputes over rights and the use of historic and cultural sites.
After more than a hundred years of commemoration of the annual Red Flag Day at the historic “Commando” at Okahandja, the desecration of a site that holds sentimental values for historically hosting the holy fire has led to physical fights and criminal charges being registered by the differing groups.
The recent division, caused by the split from the then broadly homogeneous “Ohorongo” (kudu) of the Red Flag Regiment by the newly-created “Ongeama” (lion) Red Flag Regiment has added another dimension to the already existing problems. Late last year, the blazing intra-group succession battle for the seat of “Paramount Chief (PC)” reared its ugly head again.
These and many other sources of division, such as the skewed allocation of ancestral land to ineligible or rich individuals by some traditional chiefs, the wrangling over the burial ground of veteran politician Prof. Mburumba Kerina, and quite recently, the near fatal shooting over the keys of Commando Hall no. 2, in Windhoek, are all bad omens that can further destabilise national unity, peace and stability.
The key to overcoming divisions is to discover and lay bare the various motives through peaceful, smart and innovative engagements, and to search for unity within diversity in order to strengthen the bonds and aspirations for independent statehood. Experience has taught men that people who constantly and aimlessly fight end up with wounds, loneliness and emptiness. Therefore, we cannot sit back and watch brothers devouring one another over greed.
It is now urgent that the intra-Ovaherero dialogue must commence henceforth before we destroy the sense of ethnicity and community. Common interests serve communities best, and are the desired outcomes of their interactions versus exclusive interests, which are the cause of friction and divisions.
During imperial Germany’s military occupation and oppression, whilst the attention of our forefathers was mainly focused on the Ovaherero/Nama “tribal” warfare, the German imperialists were able to seize the opportunity to strengthen their administrative and military presence in the country. Between 1884 and 1892, the Ovaherero and Nama leaders had still not yet faced the reality that the fundamental political problem in the country was no longer the internecine warfare between their two communities, but between the indigenous people and the German imperialists.
This historic mistake of our forefathers did in the end spell disaster for themselves and succeeding generations. It was in the light of this realisation that the Ovaherero and Nama leaders finally agreed to sign a peace agreement in November 1892.
Both chief Samuel Maharero of the Ovaherero people and Captain Hendrik Witbooi, chief of the Nama people, in early 1904 repudiated their early collaboration with the German imperialists, and urged each other to forget their peoples’ past differences and join hands against imperial Germany’s colonial rule. Had they joined forces in the war of resistance against German colonialism from the beginning, the defeat and subsequent genocide of both the Ovaherero and Nama peoples might have been averted. These are important lessons learned.
Therefore, with an incisive observation or study of our people’s interactions, it is hopefully the right time to reveal the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, as well as the qualities that lead great leaders to victory.
It is essential, therefore, that those who fought to bring about a fundamental new social order in the country should fully understand the events which helped, in more than a hundred years, to bring about unity and independence of this nation. Without a sound grasp of those past events, we would not be in a position to fight against the vestiges of disunity besetting our communities.
In the process of colonial state-formation, indigenous groups were placed in new colonial administrative frameworks, and new operational principles and techniques. The autonomous local outlook of the old order was replaced by the control mechanisms of a white colonial state, in which the ultimate authority was an outsider, a white foreigner. This mechanism functioned through the centralisation of power, which ultimately rested on the police and military force, the tools of authoritarian rule.
This crude force was, however, softened by making use of traditional leaders as extended arms of state control over the ethnic groups or local communities, giving this externally imposed system a resemblance of legitimacy over the masses. This colonial set-up immensely contributed to squabbles, confrontations and disunity which rattled our communities, and was exacerbated by political preferences and affiliations, as ethnic, tribal or clan authorities were jostling for recognition, power, prominence, awards, legitimacy and loyalty to the power that be.
We vividly remember the “okambumba” and “otjimbumba” political formations that led to “intra-tribal” hatred and violence. This trend was vehemently opposed by proponents of one nation during the apartheid era, albeit with minimal success. Yet, political infiltration and meddling in traditional authority matters post-independence somewhat has continued to polarise the normal functioning of the historic and shared heritage.
Since 2015, Germany has negotiated with the Namibian government over what it calls an attempt to “heal the wounds” of their historic violence. That political-economic fabrication has been universally condemned, for how genuine could an apology for horrible crimes against humanity originating from this melancholic condition be?
With division, disunity and animosity amongst Ovaherero communities, where does all this place the downtrodden in the equation? It is, therefore, imperative for the Ovaherero people to collectively close ranks, share our common focus, overarching goals and core values for the common good of the nation.
In summary, as a community, we must draw lessons from history and instill a strong belief in unity. We must strive to create an atmosphere of working smartly and innovatively through adversity. If there is one differentiator between a mediocre and a high-value leader in a community, it is the leader’s vision and ability to create and sustain unity. When you see a community with a toxic culture of finger-pointing and blame, it is usually the result of lack of unity. We must, therefore, restore our dignity and heritage through selfless leadership. Peace-making leading to reconciliation is a very hard task, but the most rewarding in these circumstances.
“Kaungundi uoo kaupenda njee” (meaning ‘bravery wins over cowardice’).