EDITORIAL: Traditional leaders must evolve or perish

Traditional leaders are meeting in Ondangwa this week. The question is, will they finally tackle the rot eating away at their institution, or will it be the usual circus of speeches, perks and self-praise?Let’s be honest. Too many traditional jurisdictions have been reduced to family dynasties – fiefdoms where leadership is inherited like cattle, not earned through competence or vision. In Owambo, it doesn’t matter if the next in line is a drunkard or a thief. Bloodline is the only qualification, and society is expected to clap hands. This is not tradition. This is feudalism. And it’s long past its sell-by date.Contrast this with the Ovaherero community, where leadership has historically been open to capable individuals beyond clan walls. When Kuaima Riruako died in 2014, his children’s names were not automatically thrust forward. Instead, Vekuii Rukoro, a respected businessman and leader, rose to the helm. Then there’s the land question. In Namibia today, too many chiefs act as though communal land belongs to them personally. Allocation depends not on fairness or accountability, but on the chief’s mood that day. If this is not abuse of authority, then what is?And let’s not tiptoe around the elephant in the hut: patriarchy. Traditional authorities remain stubbornly male-dominated. Yet Queen Mwadinomho of Oukwanyama has shown that women can govern with wisdom, dignity and compassion. If the Ondangwa gathering is to mean anything, it must move beyond podium rhetoric and recycled slogans. The issues are glaring: succession reform, land accountability, gender equality and the very relevance of traditional authorities in a constitutional democracy.Failure to address these, traditional leadership will be remembered not as the custodians of culture, but as stumbling blocks to progress – relics of a past that refused to grow with its people.

EDITORIAL: Traditional leaders must evolve or perish

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-07

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EDITORIAL: Traditional leaders must evolve or perish

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-07

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