EDITORIAL: Sankwasa’s dangerous overreach
The move by minister James Sankwasa to dethrone Daure Daman chief Zacharias Seibeb, duly gazetted in 2017 by one of his predecessors, is deeply troubling. It strikes at the very heart of how Namibia balances political power, traditional authority, and the rule of law.
The very idea that a political figure - unelected in Sankwasa’s case - can, with the stroke of a pen, remove a duly recognised chief is dangerous territory. If Seibeb’s lawyers are correct, Sankwasa has no legal grounds for his intervention. If the lawyers are wrong, and the law does in fact empower him to dethrone traditional leaders, then the situation is even more frightening. Because it would mean Namibia has quietly handed politicians the right to decapitate cultural institutions at will. That should alarm us all.
It is also suspicious that of all the many traditional authorities currently locked in bitter succession battles, Sankwasa has chosen the Daure Daman case as his battleground. Why here? Why now? The whispers are that this is less about custom and more about profits: that powerful business interests, frustrated by Chief Seibeb’s resistance, see Sankwasa as a convenient pawn to fight their battles.
If that is true, it is a scandal of industrial proportions. Namibia’s economy depends on both conservation and mining. The two must co-exist, guided by fairness and innovation. To pit one against the other - by ousting a chief who stands in the way of private profits - is reckless and lazy governance.
As matters stand, this is not about protecting nature. It is about power, money, and manipulation dressed up as noble intention. Namibians must not be hoodwinked into siding with parochial commercial interests.
If ministers can simply dethrone chiefs at will, then no community is safe from political meddling and corporate capture.
The very idea that a political figure - unelected in Sankwasa’s case - can, with the stroke of a pen, remove a duly recognised chief is dangerous territory. If Seibeb’s lawyers are correct, Sankwasa has no legal grounds for his intervention. If the lawyers are wrong, and the law does in fact empower him to dethrone traditional leaders, then the situation is even more frightening. Because it would mean Namibia has quietly handed politicians the right to decapitate cultural institutions at will. That should alarm us all.
It is also suspicious that of all the many traditional authorities currently locked in bitter succession battles, Sankwasa has chosen the Daure Daman case as his battleground. Why here? Why now? The whispers are that this is less about custom and more about profits: that powerful business interests, frustrated by Chief Seibeb’s resistance, see Sankwasa as a convenient pawn to fight their battles.
If that is true, it is a scandal of industrial proportions. Namibia’s economy depends on both conservation and mining. The two must co-exist, guided by fairness and innovation. To pit one against the other - by ousting a chief who stands in the way of private profits - is reckless and lazy governance.
As matters stand, this is not about protecting nature. It is about power, money, and manipulation dressed up as noble intention. Namibians must not be hoodwinked into siding with parochial commercial interests.
If ministers can simply dethrone chiefs at will, then no community is safe from political meddling and corporate capture.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article