EDITORIAL: When ministers crown chiefs

Yesterday, urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa announced the new chief of the VaGciriku traditional community, bringing to an end - at least on paper - a seven-year succession dispute following the death of Chief Kassian Shiyambi in 2019.

But this is not an isolated intervention. It is part of a growing pattern.

In April last year, barely weeks into his tenure, Sankwasa approved the designation of Gilbert Mutwa as Masubia chief. Within days, the decision was challenged in court. In November, he took the unprecedented step of removing Zacharias Seibeb from his position - a move that is also now under judicial scrutiny.

Taken together, these actions have ignited a broader national conversation about where government authority and traditional structures intersect.

There is a growing perception that deeply rooted customs of succession are being overridden by ministerial decisions. That what was once determined through lineage, consultation and cultural processes is now being settled through official announcements on government letterheads. The optics are troubling.

Traditional leadership carries spiritual, cultural and historical weight. It is not merely administrative. When a minister arrives with an envelope and pronounce a chief, it risks reducing a sacred process into a bureaucratic exercise.

The danger in centralising such authority is clear. If a minister can effectively determine who becomes chief, it follows that the same office can decide who ceases to be one - as seen in the case of Seibeb. That creates a precarious dynamic where traditional leaders may be viewed, rightly or wrongly, as extensions of political power rather than custodians of community heritage.

Traditional authorities derive their legitimacy from the people and customs they represent, not the Government Office Park in Windhoek.

Namibia’s strength must lie in its ability to harmonise modern governance with traditional systems.