VakaNkora tells Wakudumo to know his place

Kenya Kambowe RUNDUThe VakaNkora royal house has described Kavango East governor Bonifatius Wakudumo’s intervention into the Gciriku traditional authority chieftainship battle as “chaotic, divisive and above his pay grade” and accused him of dividing traditional communities.The royal house made the remark in response to a Namibian Sun article in which Wakudumo was quoted as saying the VakaNkora do not have a shot at the throne because the history of the tribe does not regard them as belonging to the royal family.“It is regrettable that Wakudumo, instead of engaging the VakaNkora royal family themselves, has so far displayed prejudice and bias with contempt as he avoided, completely sidelined and excluded the VakaNkora royal family in his so-called homework that he claims to have done,” a statement read.“Worse still, while the late Kassian Shiyambi is from the Katiku lineage, Wakudumo only dealt with a part of the Kandambo lineage. As a result, he did not unite anyone even amongst the descendants of Kashivi. He thus brought confusion, chaos and forged disunity.“Driving the wedge of divide deeper in traditional communities is definitely not one of a regional governor's key performance areas,” the statement from the royal house further read.LegitimateWakudumo, who submitted an application for Bartholomeus Aruvitha Kayoka to become the new chief, said his office will not channel another application to the line ministry for consideration.The VakaNkora argue that they are the legitimate royal family and nominated former Namibian ambassador to the Czech Republic, Simon Maruta, as the chief elect of the Gciriku tribe.They then wrote a letter in December 2021 to urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni to halt the designation process.Written willMeanwhile, another candidate eyeing the VaGciriku throne is Felix Maraghuli Mashika, who is the grandson of the late chief Shiyambi, who died in November 2019.Mashika claims to be in possession of a written will by the late chief which indicates that he should take over. Wakudumo, however, disputed the document’s legitimacy as a will.Namibian Sun last year reported that Mashika - through his lawyer - threatened Wakudumo to sign his application form and forward it to the line ministry for consideration, or he would take legal action.Wakudumo has, however, remained adamant that he already submitted an application which followed the right procedures – Kayoka’s - and said it’s now in the hands of the line ministry.kenya@namibiansun.com

VakaNkora tells Wakudumo to know his place

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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VakaNkora tells Wakudumo to know his place

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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