Seeking solutions on Topnaar succession issue

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to engage relevant stakeholders, including the government and the traditional chiefs&#039; council, we have decided to write this opinion.Perhaps by involving the media, our cries, our sorrows, and our disappointments might be heard by others.We want to start from the period since the death of the late Chief Seth Kooitjie in 2019. Chief Kooitjie was never the rightful heir to the throne of the #Aonin (Topnaar) clan; he was appointed by his father, who was also only acting.Working together with the then-apartheid government under the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), Esau Kooitjie manipulated the customary process and handed his son the reign.In actual fact, he, Esau Kooitjie, was supposed to return the reigns to the Topnaar royal house, but instead his son was installed in 1989. The coronation took place on the verge of Namibia’s independence, and again Esau Kooitjie, with his tactics, managed to convince the Swapo government about the legitimacy of the "ill-gotten" heir.This resulted in Chief Seth Kooitjie being gazetted chief of the Topnaars in 1998. The rightful heir to the throne, Gaob Samuel Khaxab, has been fighting since 1989 for recognition, with no success.Over the decades, Gaob Samuel Khaxab engaged the Office of the President, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the traditional leaders&#039; council, as well as the office of the late King Elifas Kaulume, since he was the chairperson of the traditional leader’s council.The problem that has existed for many years, and keeps the Topnaar clan in abject poverty and deplorable living conditions, was created by a chief who was an active member of the apartheid DTA regime, who suddenly, on the brink of Namibia’s independence, became a Swapo member (we again have documentary proof).Ignoring the plightTo make matters worse, the current traditional authorities council deputy chairperson, Chief Immanuel /Gâseb, has been and continues to interfere in our customary matters, even telling the rightful heir that he will only support and cooperate with the Seth Kooitjie group.As the Gaob of the #Aonin clan, I consider the inhumane social and economic conditions my people are living in, as a crime against humanity, perpetrated by a group of individuals who, over the decades, have enriched themselves at my people’s expense.Fishing quotas and various concessions, including minerals and wildlife, are amongst the benefits that only the late Chief Seth Kooitjie and his team are privy to.In the 25 November 2016 edition of The Namibian newspaper, Chief /Gâseb, together with Chief Kooitjie, publicly stated at Koherab in the Hardap Region that no Nama tribe should ever again elect a leader and that only surviving elders in the royal house should decide.This was supposed to be done more than 30 years ago, but both the pre- and post-independent governments have been ignoring the plight of a community whose reign dates back as early as 1600.We want an audience with the government, in particular with the line ministry, interested parties, the Topnaar community, historians, the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA), the traditional councils’ authority, and all other role players and stakeholders so that this leadership issue can receive the attention it deserves.*Gaob Samuel Khaxab#Aonin (Topnaar) Traditional Authority

Seeking solutions on Topnaar succession issue

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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Seeking solutions on Topnaar succession issue

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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