Muharukua's husband's family joins burial dispute
It has still not been decided where the late Kunene governor Angelika Muharukua will be buried – at Heroes' Acre or next to her father in the region.
A fourth meeting to discuss the matter ended inconclusively on Thursday.
Family groups claiming a stake in the matter keep multiplying on a daily basis, with the latest group being from her late husband's side. They claim that since Muharukua was married, they have the right to decide where she should be buried.
She was married to Uaundjisa Festus Muharukua, who died in 2015 when his car was swept away by a flooding stream.
“We have the right to take the decision because of the marriage certificate,” said Chief German Muzuma of Vita Royal House.
Muzuma told Nampa on Thursday he did not understand why the other two groups – the Ovakuejuva clan representing the maternal side and the Ovakuendjandje clan representing the paternal side - were saying they had the right to decide where Muharukua should be buried.
He explained that according to OvaHerero/Himba culture, once a woman is married, whether conventionally with a marriage certificate or traditionally, the woman is regarded as part of her husband's family.
Muzuma said the husband's family prefer that she be buried at Heroes' Acre as she has been accorded a state funeral by the government, and that was a sign of respect for what she had done for Namibians.
The government is still waiting for feedback from Muharukua's family before organising memorial and burial services.
President Hage Geingob accorded Muharukua a state funeral and burial at Heroes' Acre.
The state will cover all funeral costs, although the decision on where to bury the deceased lies with the family.
A government-organised memorial service which had been slated for last Wednesday and a funeral planned for Saturday were postponed because of the confusion.
Muharukua served as Kunene governor from 2015 until her death at her Windhoek home on 1 October.
NAMPA
A fourth meeting to discuss the matter ended inconclusively on Thursday.
Family groups claiming a stake in the matter keep multiplying on a daily basis, with the latest group being from her late husband's side. They claim that since Muharukua was married, they have the right to decide where she should be buried.
She was married to Uaundjisa Festus Muharukua, who died in 2015 when his car was swept away by a flooding stream.
“We have the right to take the decision because of the marriage certificate,” said Chief German Muzuma of Vita Royal House.
Muzuma told Nampa on Thursday he did not understand why the other two groups – the Ovakuejuva clan representing the maternal side and the Ovakuendjandje clan representing the paternal side - were saying they had the right to decide where Muharukua should be buried.
He explained that according to OvaHerero/Himba culture, once a woman is married, whether conventionally with a marriage certificate or traditionally, the woman is regarded as part of her husband's family.
Muzuma said the husband's family prefer that she be buried at Heroes' Acre as she has been accorded a state funeral by the government, and that was a sign of respect for what she had done for Namibians.
The government is still waiting for feedback from Muharukua's family before organising memorial and burial services.
President Hage Geingob accorded Muharukua a state funeral and burial at Heroes' Acre.
The state will cover all funeral costs, although the decision on where to bury the deceased lies with the family.
A government-organised memorial service which had been slated for last Wednesday and a funeral planned for Saturday were postponed because of the confusion.
Muharukua served as Kunene governor from 2015 until her death at her Windhoek home on 1 October.
NAMPA
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