Hertta- Maria Amutenja
Windhoek city police deputy chief for operations Eliaser Iiyambo and his brother Simon have been ordered by the Oshakati High Court to vacate a homestead and farming unit they took from their late uncle’s widow six years ago.
High Court judge David Munsu directed the brothers to return the keys to the Olundjinda homestead in Ongandjera to widow Aili Ndapandameme Iilende within 10 days.
They must also hand back peaceful and undisturbed possession of the Olundjinda homestead and the Etunda farming unit.
“The defendants and all those in occupation of the premises are hereby evicted from the aforementioned residential unit at Olundjinda village, Ongandjera, and the farming unit at Etunda village, Ongandjera,” said Munsu.
The order authorises the deputy sheriff to evict the brothers if they fail to comply and directs that all occupants be removed.
The court also ordered them to pay the legal costs of the Ongandjera Traditional Authority, the Omusati Communal Land Board, Iilende, and the estate of the late Daniel Uutoni.
Court records show Iilende married dentist Daniel Uutoni in June 2018 and lived with him at their homestead in Okathitukambanda village near Okahao.
After Uutoni’s death in March 2019, the Iiyambo brothers, his nephews, allegedly forced Iilende and her three children out of the property, locked the homestead, and began living there.
They also evicted her from farming units at Olundjinda and Etunda and took possession of her belongings.
According to the Ongandjera Traditional Authority, the Communal Land Reform Act lawfully allocated the land to Iilende, who was Uutoni’s surviving spouse.
On 30 October 2020, King Johannes Mupiya led a hearing attended by the brothers, Iilende, and witnesses. The Traditional Authority ruled that Iilende should be given land rights and peaceful possession within 30 days.
The brothers refused to comply, prompting the Traditional Authority, Uutoni’s estate, and the Omusati Communal Land Board to take the matter to court.
In their defence, Eliaser and Simon argued that Uutoni was never allocated the Olundjinda property and claimed it belonged to Eliaser under customary law.
They also argued that the Etunda farming unit was given years earlier to their late uncle, Eino Iilende, and never registered in Uutoni’s name. They maintained that Uutoni only used the land for cultivation and Eliaser took it over after his death.
However, Okathitukambanda headman Stefanus Angula confirmed that the homestead was reallocated to Iilende as the surviving spouse after Uutoni’s death.
Senior traditional councillor Petrus Iipinge also issued a letter of consent in June 2022 for her to register customary land rights to the Etunda farming unit.
In earlier statements, Iilende told the court that the eviction left her and her children without a village home and they have lived at Oshakati East since 2019. “They chased me out of the house and locked it. We do not have a village house anymore,” she said.
