Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Special advisor to the chief of the /Khomanin Traditional Authority, Walter /Hâseb, has accused certain individuals of exploiting the ongoing /Khomanin communal land dispute for political gain.
The dispute, which revolves around ancestral land rights, has resurfaced with allegations from the community that a farmer, John Cuff, is infringing upon their rights to access, use, and control the land.
“These individuals are being economical with the information they are sharing. They have their own political objectives that they want to achieve through elections. They are using this land issue to rally support, but they are not telling the full story. We have been trying to resolve this matter in the correct way, through proper channels, but some people are stirring emotions for their own purposes,” said /Hâseb.
The /Khomanin community has lodged fresh complaints against Cuff and /Khomanin Traditional Authority Chief Juliane Gawa!nas, claiming that he has illegally expanded his farming operations onto their ancestral lands and cleared portions of land where /Khomanin graves are located.
According to the community, the land, which was reserved for them based on a verbal agreement with the Bleks family, has now been overtaken by Cuff’s operations.
Cuff is accused of cancelling their servitude rights to the land, with claims that he now fully controls Baumgartsbrunn-//Ganaxas farm.
In a recent press release, the |Khomanin community accused the traditional authority chief of sabotaging the Ancestral Land Foundation (ALFON)’s efforts to facilitate a Stakeholders Deliberative Engagement with Cuff and the /Khomanins Landless Association on 8 October 2024, as previously agreed on 24 September 2024.
The community alleges that Cuff stated Chief Gawa!nas instructed him not to meet with the community and activists, choosing instead to meet with her privately in Windhoek on 8 October 2024.
“It’s the strangest thing to make sense of how a chief sides with people that are busy displacing and suppressing the very same people you are supposed to lead and stand up for,” said Shaun Gariseb, a social justice activist and leader of the community’s efforts.
“We are all going to boycott the festival because we are hurt and disappointed in her leadership,” he said.
The community expressed their determination to reclaim their land.
“We will not rest until our voices are heard, and our land is returned to us. This fight is not just for ourselves but for future generations.”
They plan to hold a mass meeting of all /Khomanin people on the day of Chief Gawa!nas’s festival to address their grievances and discuss their rights.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Cuff remained futile by the time of publication.
