Disputed Katima plot belongs to State

The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement has confirmed that the piece of land at Katima Mulilo being disputed by the Mafwe Traditional Authority and the Zambezi Regional Council in fact belongs to the State. Lands Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Matongela told Namibian Sun yesterday that the land situated on the Zambezi River is under the control of the Zambezi Regional Council. Matongela said the ministry cannot intervene in the dispute. According to the information provided, “Farm Wenela no 2029 is registered in the name of the government and held by Title Deed no T545/2009, registered at the Deeds Office on 24 February 2009. “This means the Zambezi Regional Council holds the title deed for the piece of land in the Wenela border post area. “As a ministry, we can only intervene if the dispute was about communal land. Anyone with a title deed to land is the rightful owner,” said Matongela. The land dispute dates back to 2008, after the introduction of the Communal Land Act of 2002 which changed how land is administered by local chiefs. On Thursday, Namibian Sun carried a report in which Mafwe Traditional Authority Chief Simasiku George Mamili accused Zambezi chief regional officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda and the region’s political heavyweights Lawrence Sampofu and Raphael Mbala of stealing his land. The allegation came after some people with letters of ownership issued to them by Chief Mamili and Induna Liselo were chased off the land by regional council officials. Mamili’s subject, Induna Licha Bwendo, had added that the applicants’ envisioned tourism and housing projects are now at a standstill, while the regional council allegedly awarded a plot to a town council official to build a lodge there. Mamili told Namibian Sun that Ndopu-Lubinda had “openly insulted” his authority by saying the land does not belong to him, and refused to meet him. However, Katima Mulilo Mayor Charles Matengu said the official in question is building on land falling within the borders of the town. The land was advertised and no objection was made to the sale, he said. Ndopu-Lubinda said a meeting was held with Induna Liselo, where she showed him documentary proof that the land belongs to the State. She denied snubbing Mamili’s request to appear before the traditional khuta to resolve the dispute.