BREAKING NEWS - Sankwasa receives 15 chieftainship applications

Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa says he has received 15 new applications for chieftainship, questioning the growing number of traditional leaders in Namibia.

“The number is increasing on a monthly basis. That gives rise to a question: what in Namibia do we want to establish?” Sankwasa said at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Council of Traditional Leaders in Otjiwarongo today.

He questioned the factors driving the rush for chieftainship and raised concerns about alleged violations of national laws, miscarriages of justice and conflicts between customary practices and state law.

Citing restrictions on women entering certain places, Sankwasa asked how a woman serving as a government councillor could represent the government if cultural rules prevented her from accessing those areas.

VIDEO: Phillipus Josef