Tujoromajo Kasuto
Professor Mutjinde Katjiua, the Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero says that the storm is over and there should be no doubt that he is the legitimate leader after chaos had erupted within the leadership of the OvaHerero Traditional Authority with former council chairperson Vipuira Kapuuo also wanting a seat at the table.
‘’The Ovaherero Chiefs Council has nominated, designated and elected me following an established process, and then as part of that process has taken me through the established process at specified holy fires to link my being with the ancestors,’’ said Katjiua at a media conference today.
Consequently, he said the weekend of 15-17 July the symbols of power will be handed over to him at Okahandja.
‘’This is a symbolic process signalling the supremacy of the Paramountcy as Commander-In Chief of the traditional flags and leader of the Ovaherero people globally,’’ he explained.
Meanwhile, the OTA will be holding the Annual OvaHerero Commemoration in Okahandja during the weekend of the 16-17 July.
‘’We shall be paying homage to our heroes as we have done so since 1923 when we interred the remains of our second Paramount Chief Samuel Maharero upon their repatriation from Botswana. We were commandeered by our third Paramount Chief, the legendary Hosea Kuţako, to gather annually to reflect on the loss we have suffered because of the genocide by Germany, to rebuild family ties, our dignity and culture, and to celebrate heroes and heroines. Thus, Okahandja Day is vital to our being,’’ said the Paramount Chief.
Furthermore, the tombstone unveiling of the late Paramount Chief, Adv Vekuii Rukoro will also be taking place in the interim.
As not everybody could pay their last respect to him due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions at the time, the OTA, together with the family of the late Paramount Chief, will hold the tombstone unveiling ceremony on the Sunday morning of the 17th of July.
A diverse group of entities and personalities from Botswana, South Africa, United States of America, Canada, the UK, Germany and within Namibia are set to be in attendance.
‘’The nation has gone through a heart-breaking period last year, as among the many people we lost to Covid-19, we lost our dearly loved Paramount Chief on the 18 June 2021 of which the burial was held on the 18th of July 2021 – the same day the legendary Paramount Chief Kuţako died in 1970 at the advanced age of 100 years,’’ noted Katjiua.
