Ya Toivo widow in resettlement storm

Government's decision to give a resettlement farm to the widow of the late struggle icon Andimba Toivo ya Toivo has been condemned by land activists. American-born Vicki Erenstein ya Toivo is among seven resettlement beneficiaries whose names the land reform ministry advertised in the local media yesterday. She received a 2 376-hectare farm in the Omaheke Region after the ministry advertised the land parcels in December 2017 and allocated them barely a month after. The allocation sparked public outrage on social media, with Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda calling it a slap in the faces of poor, landless, black Namibians. Amupanda said it was unacceptable that Erenstein ya Toivo could be a land reform beneficiary at a time when anger and frustration were building over the government's inaction to address landlessness. “The family already have a farm and she is 70 years old. What is she going to do with an additional farm? But in essence I cannot understand how a white woman can be resettled. “I cannot understand how officials can motivate this. It seems the only way we must address this is to revolt. It is clear that politicians are the enemy of the people,” he said. Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi described it as a “pathetic allocation”. “It demonstrates that this government does not take land dispossession seriously at all. The ya Toivo family have been well taken care of over the years and have shown others they're not farmers. Now she gets awarded [a farm] precisely because she belongs to the corrupt elite. She has her husband's pension and her own pension, what more does she need?” he said. LPM spokesman Paul Thomas added that it was once again crystal clear that the government was only out to satisfy its political cronies and affiliates. “It is once again proof that the political elite are the only [ones] that have access to land in this country. We see once again people that are wealthy are given these opportunities. We reject it as LPM,” he said. There was also a fiery debate on Facebook. “Prioritise those communities who lost their land through colonialism. It is a well-known fact that some communities were dispossessed of their land. “Resettle those communities first in communal areas, not as individuals, because every farm allocated to an individual makes that individual an elite,” one Facebook user commented. Land reform ministry spokesperson Chrispin Matongela referred all enquiries to permanent secretary Peter Amutenya, who was in meetings and unreachable. Erenstein Ya Toivo could not be reached for comment.JEMIMA BEUKES

Ya Toivo widow in resettlement storm

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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Ya Toivo widow in resettlement storm

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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