Renthia Kaimbi
Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa says the fatal shooting of headmen in the Ondonga Traditional Authority happened because of systemic failures in the Communal Land Board.
He warns that weaknesses in land dispute resolution structures continue to fuel violence.
This comes as a land dispute within the Ondonga Traditional Authority turned deadly on Friday during an attempt to resolve a conflict over communal land.
A suspect opened fire, resulting in the death of Onelago village headman Sam Nepando and injuring Iikokola village headman I-Ben Nashandi.
Nashandi is also the National Planning Commission (NPC) executive director.
Nashandi is recovering in hospital following a successful emergency operation.
The incident has sparked urgent debate at the ministerial level over the management of communal land and the effectiveness of existing dispute resolution mechanisms.
Speaking to the Windhoek Observer, Sankwasa condemned the use of violence and said aggrieved parties have legal avenues to appeal decisions rather than taking the law into their hands.
“Using a gun is a modern thing. Even in the instance that a traditional chief has not ruled in a dispute properly, there is a council of traditional leaders enacted in terms of the law, where issues of that matter can be resolved. There is no need for violence because structures for the resolution of disputes are already in place,” said Sankwasa.
While reaffirming that traditional chiefs remain custodians of communal land under customary law, Sankwasa said Communal Land Boards have become a source of conflict rather than resolution.
He said many board members lack adequate understanding of customary law and land management, resulting in flawed decisions.
Since taking office, he has observed a rise in communal land disputes originating from land board rulings.
“We need to see what sort of people are appointed to these communal land boards because they create a lot of problems,” Sankwasa said, singling out the Zambezi Communal Land Board, where he alleged that rulings can be bought “against the reality”.
Sankwasa said his ministry will work with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to conduct a comprehensive review of all Communal Land Boards.
This will include performance assessments and evaluations of board membership.
“We are going to look into the situation and evaluate all the land boards to see their performances and what problems they’ve created. If such members are there, they must be removed from the land boards.”
He said land boards must operate strictly within the law and ensure their decisions align with acceptable cultural principles of the communities they serve.
“Unfortunately, Communal Land Boards have created more problems for the chiefs and for the community. It’s time we address this issue,” he said.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting and is expected to appear in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court today.
This comes as the Land Bill was reintroduced in the National Assembly last year by minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Management Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi.
The bill aims to improve land redistribution and access for women, youth, generational farmworkers, and corridor dwellers by consolidating the Agricultural Commercial Land Reform Act and the Communal Land Reform Act.
During the parliamentary debate, Popular Democratic Movement member of parliament Inna Hengari argued that the proposed legislation failed to confront deep-rooted biases that favour male heirs in communal land allocation and inheritance.
She said existing laws and customary practices continued to place women at a disadvantage in land ownership.
In October last year, the Council of Traditional Authorities expressed opposition to the land bill.
They said the land bill would strip them of their authority over communal land.
