Zambezi, Kavango East border fight drags on

KENYA KAMBOWE RUNDU Government has been dragged into an ancestral land ownership issue dating back to the 14th century over what is today known as the Bwabwata National Park.This contention is contained in a report by the commission of enquiry into claims of ancestral land and restitution, commissioned by President Hage Geingob last year.Over the years, there has been a tussle over who the legitimate ancestral owners of the land on which the national park is located are.The Hambukushu traditional authority has been claiming ownership while the Barakwenas (Kxoe) also claim that they were the first inhabitants of the area.Meanwhile, the Mafwe and Mashi traditional authorities have strongly opposed the Hambukushu version of events, who claim that their jurisdiction covers the entire area from Tjova in Kavango East to Kongola in Zambezi.The Bwabwata National Park falls within this area.Land grabsIn the report, the two traditional authorities argued that the Hambukushu grabbed the land from the powerless Kxoe people and now claim it’s as their own.“The claim of Hambushuku traditional authority to Kongola does not hold water. It should learn to know that they moved from the flooded areas of Mashi in Zambia to Andara in the 1800s. That is their historical background,” the Mashi traditional authority argued.“They started to grab land from the Kxoe who were powerless at that time. Those Hambushuku who trekked from Andara to the Caprivi Strip never returned back and some of them went further and crossed the Mashi River and settled in the Caprivi Region [now Zambezi Region]. Some of these are Siambiso, Shamombela, Sikwanyi, Mbengela, Likweyeya, Sitoti and Sifanu families.”Land lostAccording to the Mafwe traditional authority, the western side of the then Caprivi Region stretched from Andara until the signing of an agreement on 4 May 1977 between chief Richard Muhinda Mamili, chief Joshua Moraliswani and chief Alfons Mayavero of the Hambukushu at Kongola. They agreed for the area’s boundary to be at Divundu in the middle of the Kavango River Bridge.The Mafwe also provided documentation of minutes of meetings held between the cabinets of Kavango and Eastern Caprivi dated 29 June and 11 November 1977.The traditional authority further claimed land loss due to the proclamations of the Bwabwata, Mudumu and Mamili national parks. kenya@namibiansun.com

Zambezi, Kavango East border fight drags on

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Zambezi, Kavango East border fight drags on

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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