Occupy Kleine Kuppe

Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) spokesperson Job Amupanda says he is tired of paying N$8 000 a month in rent, hence he occupied a piece of land in the affluent Kleine Kuppe suburb of Windhoek yesterday. Amupanda said he will put up a structure on the land because he fears being a “useless father and husband to his family” because of not being able to buy a house. Early yesterday morning, Amupanda started clearing bushes on what he calls “Erf 2014”. He claims this is not land grabbing but “affirmative repositioning”. He said other young professionals in the same boat as him can join him on the adjacent “Erf 2014-1, Erf 2014-2” - a large piece of land just a stone’s throw from a block of flats and the new Grove Mall. SPYL leader Elijah Ngurare has distanced the youth wing from Amupanda’s land grab, which others are expected to copy. Hours after Amupanda occupied the plot, Ngurare posted on Facebook that he was receiving calls “about some young Namibians who have cleared, with the view to occupy, a piece of land in Kleine Kuppe.” He warned that landless Namibians should not take the law into their own hands by occupying land without proper procedure. However, Amupanda said recent sales of land by the City Council left him with no choice but to invade Kleine Kuppe and “repossess” the land. “The recent manifestations have shown that there are those who get land easily without being subjected to procedure. I have followed proper procedures. I have been waiting and waiting until now,” Amupanda said. The City Council recently sold Big Brother Africa 2013 winner Dillish Mathews a Kleine Kuppe plot at a discounted price because, according to Mayor Agnes Kafula, she is a “special case”. Also, the City reportedly sold a prime plot in Windhoek valued at N$8 million for N$5 million to Kafula’s son through a company he formed last year. It was further alleged that Kafula herself bought a Kleine Kuppe plot with a market value of over N$1 million for only N$600 000. These dealings have led to a public outcry, with Swapo threatening to take action against “irresponsible councillors who involve themselves in dubious land deals”. Shame Amupanda said it would be shameful for him to rent a home for his family for the rest of his life. “I am tormented and captured by the fear of being a useless father. I do not want to be a useless father or husband who is renting,” he said. “I can’t be renting. What will my children think of me? I am tired because no one regulates these prices of land. I am tired of paying that N$8 000 rent. I am tired of paying somebody else’s bond.” According to him, Namibia is a free country and people are free to live wherever they want. He added that he did not fear any repercussions of this invasion, even if it means being expelled from Swapo. “They wanted to get rid of me anyway, so it was just a matter of time. I do not really think that it has to do with this action. “Those detractors were always waiting for something but I know that I am not just representing myself. We have young professionals, who are 39, 45 but have been renting forever.” Yesterday, pictures of Amupanda clearing the Kleine Kuppe land went viral on social media with many people, including opposition politicians, welcoming his action. In a Facebook status update, Ngurare said the SPYL would follow Swapo’s position on urban land ownership, as explained by Geingob and Mbumba. “Therefore, our message to the landless young people of Namibia, in general, is this: exercise further patience, the Swapo leadership is fully aware of our (SPYL) position on land as made clear through established structures…” WINDHOEK ELVIS MURARANGANDA