Patience Makwele
Traditional leaders from Kavango East and Kavango West say government-driven communal land reforms could weaken customary authority and increase pressure on ancestral land.
The concerns were raised during consultations between the Chiefs’ Council and the parliamentary standing committee on urban and rural development and land reform.
Traditional leaders said growing pressure on communal land, illegal fencing, weak enforcement and delays in land administration are creating uncertainty in rural communities already affected by population growth and shrinking grazing areas.
They also warned that formal land registration could lead to increased land sales and leave future generations without access to ancestral land.
Members of the Hambukushu Traditional Authority said the consultations came at a time when communal land governance is facing increasing pressure across northern Namibia.
Chiefs’ council member Dagobert Mukoya said the government policies promoting land registration are clashing with traditional customs that have guided communal land ownership for generations.
“Our customary practices do not allow fencing and registration of communal land in the manner the government wants it done. There is now a clear conflict between customary practices and statutory law,” Mukoya said.
The chiefs of the Uukwangali and Gciriku traditional authorities, Eugene Kudumo and Haruvita Kayoka, also warned that formal land registration could increase commercialisation of communal land and lead to dispossession of local communities.
“For years we have rejected land registration because it goes against our traditions. People are already selling communal land illegally. If land is formally registered, sales will increase, and eventually foreigners will buy land that should belong to our children and livestock,” Kudumo said.
Kayoka criticised what he described as pressure on communities to accept land registration systems they do not support.
“If people are refusing land registration, why force it? Communities are already suffering and these policies may only worsen the situation,” he said.
Similar concerns have also emerged in the Zambezi region, where traditional leaders say land disputes, illegal allocations and pressure on natural resources are threatening stability in rural communities.
Former spokesperson of the Mayeyi Traditional Authority, Jeke Sifu, said traditional authorities are struggling to manage rising land conflicts while government institutions remain slow to act.
“We are witnessing a situation where communal land systems are gradually losing control because there is confusion over who ultimately has authority between traditional leaders and state structures,” he said.
Sifu said illegal fencing, unauthorised land allocations and increasing commercial interest in communal areas are creating tension among residents and weakening customary systems that regulated land ownership and access.
“People are beginning to exploit loopholes in the system because enforcement is weak and policies are not clearly aligned with customary practices. Traditional authorities are blamed by communities when disputes arise, yet in many cases our powers to act are limited by state procedures,” he said.
He warned that land disputes could grow into wider social and political tensions if government fails to strengthen cooperation with traditional authorities.
“Traditional leaders are not opposing development or reform, but communities want reforms that protect their identity, their grazing land and the future of their children,” he said.
Sifu said many rural families fear communal land could eventually end up concentrated in the hands of a few individuals.
“Once communal land becomes heavily commercialised, poorer families will suffer the most because they do not have the financial means to compete. The fear in many villages is that future generations may eventually find themselves landless in areas their ancestors occupied for decades,” he said.
Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on urban and rural development and land reform Clemencia Coetzee acknowledged frustrations around unresolved communal land disputes.
“Most of the challenges relate to land registration, illegal fencing and laws that are either absent or not properly implemented. The people responsible for handling these matters are sitting on issues instead of resolving them while communities continue to suffer on the ground,” Coetzee said.
Land analyst and political commentator Beaven Kawana Mutonga said the tensions surrounding communal land reforms reflect a wider governance challenge between state systems and traditional authority structures.
“The debate around communal land registration is not simply an administrative issue. It touches on identity, culture, power and historical memory,” Mutonga said.
He said many rural communities fear formal registration could weaken customary control over communal land and increase privatisation.
“For generations, communal land has functioned as a social protection system for rural communities. Once people begin to view land purely through an individual ownership and commercial lens, you inevitably create new inequalities, exclusion and potential conflict,” he said.
Mutonga said the government may see registration as a tool for improving land administration and investment security, while communities often see it as an attempt to weaken customary governance systems.
“The state must understand that communal land is not only an economic resource. In many communities it represents belonging, heritage and survival. Any reform process that appears imposed rather than negotiated risks deepening mistrust between government institutions and traditional authorities,” he said.
He warned that communal land debates could become politically sensitive in regions already facing population growth, unemployment and pressure on natural resources.
Political analyst Joubert Harushando said resistance from traditional leaders reflects longstanding concerns around land, authority and exclusion in post-independence Namibia.
“Land remains one of the most emotionally and politically charged issues in the country because it is directly linked to dignity, identity and economic survival,” Harushando said.
He said communal land reforms cannot be approached only from a technical or administrative perspective in rural areas where traditional authorities still play an important role in governance and dispute resolution.
“The government must appreciate that traditional authorities are not merely ceremonial structures in many communities. They are custodians of social order, culture and access to communal resources. When communities feel that these structures are being bypassed or weakened, resistance becomes inevitable,” he said.
Harushando said pressure on communal land is increasing due to population growth, unemployment and rural poverty.
“The pressure on communal land is no longer only about farming. It is now also about housing, informal business activity, migration and economic survival. As demand for land increases, disputes over ownership, control and access will naturally become more politically sensitive,” he said.
He added that the government faces a difficult balance between modernising land administration and maintaining trust with traditional communities.
“The danger is that if reforms are perceived as top-down or disconnected from local realities, the government may unintentionally create a legitimacy crisis in rural areas. Sustainable land reform requires consultation, trust-building and genuine partnership with traditional leaders rather than policy enforcement alone,” he said.
The parliamentary consultations form part of ongoing efforts to review challenges affecting communal land administration and possible amendments to existing land laws.
