Family squabble ends in destruction

Omukwaniilwa of Ondonga Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo will call his traditional councillors to order for failure to amicably resolve a family dispute at Okakonyambata village. The dispute saw the demolition of structures in a traditional homestead.Nangolo was not aware of the issue until he saw a video on Namibian Sun social media platforms where family members demolished structures in a house now belonging to their youngest sibling.Before breaking down their own brick structures in the homestead once owned by their parents, who have both since died, the dispute was first heard by the Ondonga Traditional Authority (OTA) land committee, which failed to resolve it.It is reported that when the late Epafras Enkali died in 1995, the house was passed onto his wife Julia, who died in 2016.The house was then inherited by Petrus Aupapa (48), one of the deceased couple's children.Aupapa's five other siblings, Johannes (70), Namene (60), Timoteus (54), Oumama (52) and Nangula (49) all wanted a portion of their parents' mahangu field to build houses, which Aupapa refused.“I did not chase them from the house. I just could not obey their demand of them getting portions of land in the mahangu field. This was our grandfather's land. When he died, it went to the wife who passed it on to our father who then passed it onto our mother,” Aupapa said.“My siblings are fighting me so hard, all five of them are on one side against me. Some of them are even married but they still want to own land here while they have their husbands or they have houses with their wives elsewhere.”Aupapa said last year was tough for him.“Last year when I decided to get married, my sibling were against my decision and they could not give me peace of mind. They even went to report me to the traditional authority. I then decided to resign so I [can] focus on the wedding,” Aupapa said.On Friday, the five siblings demolished their structures in their homestead and vacated the house. Aupapa and his wife looked on as the brick structure came crashing down.Namene said they were not against their little brother taking the house, and their decision to demolish their buildings was influenced by a land committee decision that ordered them to vacate.“All we wanted was to get pieces of land in the mahangu field so we build our houses and let him stay in the house with his wife and children, but he refused. We went to report this matter to Ondonga prince Kambuta, who then referred them to Petrus M'nguli who deals with Ondonga land matters,” Namene said.“On 31 January, we were called to the OTA offices to appear before the land committee made up of Ambassador Eddy Amukongo, Ismael Shailemo, Lot Kasamane and M'nguli. In this meeting, Shailemo walked out because of M'nguli's decision that we must vacate the house as we have no right to it.”Namene said this was painful to them, hence their drastic decision to demolish the structures.Omukwaniilwa Nangolo yesterday had audience with the family at his palace.Ondonga spokesperson Kashona kaMalulu told Namibian Sun that after the consultation, OTA allocated land to the five siblings. Malulu said Nangolo however expressed his disappointment in their actions.ILENI NANDJATO

Family squabble ends in destruction

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-17

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Family squabble ends in destruction

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-17

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