Auleria Wakudumo
Marginalised communities have called for an end to what they describe as continued dehumanisation and marginalisation as they push for dignity and land ownership in Namibia.
This was the central message at a workshop held in Windhoek yesterday, where government officials, researchers, activists and San representatives reflected on the historical and present-day realities of the San communities in the country. The engagement narrated the history and contemporary realities of San communities.
It examined how historical dispossession continues to shape poverty, exclusion and limited access to land and services. Human rights activist Uhuru Dempers strongly criticised the treatment of San people in some communities.
He said harmful practices must urgently end.
He added that San communities are often exploited in households, including being employed as domestic workers under unequal conditions.
In some cases, their children are tasked with herding livestock and other manual labour.
“The treatment must stop from Namibians first,” he said.
Dempers said such practices reflect a continuation of colonial-era dehumanisation that remains unaddressed in modern Namibia.
He argued that leadership at the highest level is required to confront these inequalities.
“There are people taking in San girls as house helps and San boys as cattle herders while their own children go to school,” he said.
Fenny Nakanyete traced the historical roots of San marginalisation, linking current socio-economic conditions to decades of dispossession and exclusion.
She highlighted how communities such as the Xun, Ju/’hoansi, Naro and Hai||om continue to face challenges in accessing land, education, healthcare and sustainable livelihoods.
Nakanyete said, while government interventions exist, they often fail to fully address the problem’s structural nature.
She recommended a shift towards land-based empowerment and inclusive development strategies that are informed by the lived realities of San communities.
“Long-term solutions must move beyond welfare support towards ownership, participation and decision-making power,” she stressed.
Voices from the San community reflected deep frustration with their lived experiences.
Community member Maria Garises said they are tired of being labelled as marginalised.
“Since when are we going to be referred to as marginalised. The world is changing, developments are taking place globally, but we remain marginalised. Until when?” she asked.
Garises acknowledged government efforts but said implementation has often not been effective.
She urged policymakers to learn from successful international models and adapt strategies that have worked elsewhere.
Garises also raised concerns about development programmes that introduced farming and livestock projects without adequate preparation or cultural understanding.
San participants said they historically lived as hunter-gatherers and were not sufficiently empowered or trained before being transitioned into farming lifestyles.
They said this created dependency and confusion rather than sustainable development.
Grashoek’s San leader Elvis Namce said communities feel increasingly pushed aside as ancestral land continues to be fenced off and allocated to others. He said San people are often excluded from benefiting from land that once supported their traditional way of life.
“We see people being given land and fencing it off every day, while we cannot claim or even benefit from it,” he said.
Namce stressed that the community is not only demanding land but fertile and usable land that can sustain livelihoods.
“We want to enjoy berries and wild fruits from the bush, but we cannot do that anymore because the land is fenced and owned by outsiders,” he said.
Participants stated that inclusion of San voices in policy discussions remains critical, particularly in areas of land reform, education and socio-economic development.
They call for land ownership, dignity, inclusion in policy making and an end to marginalisation.
-awakudumo@nepc.com.na