Aandonga march against OTA
Aandonga march against OTA

Aandonga march against OTA

Uukwanambwa community members have marched from Onamungudo to the Oniipa Constituency office, where they handed a petition to Oshikoto regional governor Henock Kankoshi.
Ileni Nandjato
ILENI NANDJATO



An urgent application by the Ondonga Traditional Authority (OTA), seeking to interdict the inauguration of a new senior headman, has irked some community members.

At the centre of the storm is Ester Gwashamba Nepando, who was recently named as the new senior headman of Uukwanambwa District, replacing Wilbard Lidker, who was fired in February.

However, the Uukwanambwa community members staged a peaceful demonstration and marched from Onamungudo to the Oniipa Constituency offices where they handed a petition to Oshikoto regional governor Henock Kankoshi.

The urgent application was filed in the Windhoek High Court on 27 March, with the matter set to be heard sometime this week.

A meeting by the Ondonga King’s Council last month resolved that the appointment of Nepando as a senior councillor was illegal and not procedural.

The traditional authority is alleging that the firing of Lidker was forced upon King Immanuel Kauluma Elifas by his wife Secilia and the Ondonga village headman, Oscar Sheehama.

According to members of the King’s Council, Nepando’s appointment of was not done in consultation with the traditional authority.

This prompted them to approach the High Court with an urgent application to halt the inauguration.

The OTA is represented by Sisa Namandje.

Nepando, the king’s wife Secilia, Sheehama, and urban and rural development minister Sophia Shaningwa are listed as respondents.

King Elifas is also listed as a respondent in the matter – which appears to have irked supporters of Nepando. They feel that the OTA is being disrespectful by dragging the king’s name into the matter.

Reading the petition was Onandjamba village headman Jerry Kambala, who demanded Kankoshi’s urgent intervention in the matter.

“We demand that the governor must work out modalities within the jurisdiction of his office in this respect of this embarrassing situation to restore Ondonga pride. We are also demanding that the inauguration of the new senior councillor for Uukwanambwa District must go ahead,” the petition reads.

The group also demanded Kankoshi’s assistance to make sure that the current OTA leadership was suspended and the office was closed.

“OTA rebellious councillors must be suspended with immediate effect to pave the way for objective internal investigation in order to unearth the root cause of these developments. The King [should] also recall the so-called King’s appointed representative who now seems to be in the pocket of the rebellious OTA councillors,” the petition continues.

Kankoshi promised the group that he would channel their petition to the relevant office.

“I have received your petition, but you must remember that this matter is with the court,” Kankoshi said.

For their part, the OTA said they had not been informed of the demonstration and had not seen the petition, so they could not comment.

However, on the issue of the court application the OTA said they felt that Lidker was not fired procedurally.

“It appeared that Lidker was fired based on a criminal case against him, of which he was not found guilty. Why wouldn’t they wait until the court pronounced itself on him, and why are they rushing to replace him without consultation of OTA?” the authority questioned.

Earlier this year Nampa reported that King Elifas had fired Lidker because of allegations that he had tried to set the bedroom of his ex-girlfriend on fire at Omutsegonime village.

According to the OTA there was no disciplinary hearing before Lidker was dismissed.

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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