Chiefs must shape up

Sanity has finally prevailed in the ongoing dispute pitting the Ondonga royal family and the top aides of King Immanuel Kauluma Elifas, who were dismissed last year, ostensibly over the succession issue. The senior leaders were reportedly being purged by a rival grouping of individuals close to the royal family and who were apparently taking advantage of Elifas's poor health to wield the axe. The fired councillors are backing Shuumbwa Nangolo, who was nominated by the Ondonga king as his heir in September 2012, to take over from Elifas one day. The widely publicised and embarrassing shenanigans within the Ondonga Traditional Authority led to unnecessary confusion and irreconcilable differences not only among the leadership, but also the subjects and the community at large. The traditional authority has seemingly also been playing a 'hide and seek' game with the deputy chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders in Namibia, Chief Immanuel /Gâseb, who for many months now has been trying to get an audience with the ailing Elifas, but to no avail. The Ondonga saga once again reminds us that we live in a power-hungry and prestige-craved world where certain individuals are only interested in serving their own needs. In the midst of the storm were also allegations that some heavyweights within the royal family were grabbing and allocating land to their rich friends and associates. Again the traditional authority never addressed this issue and it remains to be seen as to what will happen to allegations of this nature. It is also rather puzzling to see government having adopted 'a wait-and-see' approach despite the massive impact the standoff had on the community and nation at large. The government fully recognises the Ondonga Traditional Authority and as a custodian of traditional authority affairs in the country, the ministry of urban and rural development should have investigated the matter to get to the bottom line. The anarchy prevailing at most traditional authorities must be dealt with once and for all. Traditional leaders are there to represent their communities and it is high time that selfish elements that are exploiting the situation for their personal gain are swiftly flushed out of the system.