San communities accuse government of taking their land
The San communities have accused the government of dispossessing them of their land and resettling people from other parts of the country, renewing long-standing grievances over land rights, forced removals and exclusion from social protection systems.
Kobus Kaiseb from Otjikoto Lake told the San Paralegals’ National Reflection and Planning Workshop in Windhoek last week that the government bought a farm in 2007 without consulting the indigenous community living there and later designated it for resettlement, despite San families having occupied the land for more than 50 years.
He said two individuals were subsequently allocated plots on the farm, while the original community is now labelled as illegal occupiers and faces possible eviction, even though burial sites and ancestral ties exist on the land.
The San Paralegals’ National Reflection and Planning Workshop is a civil society forum that brings together San community paralegals, activists and partner organisations to reflect on legal and social challenges facing San communities.
The gathering provides a platform for documenting cases, sharing experiences, discussing constitutional protections and international instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and planning coordinated advocacy and legal support strategies.
Citing Articles 10 and 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Kaiseb said indigenous communities must not be forcibly removed without free, prior and informed consent and have the right to own, use and develop their traditional land and resources, adding that these principles are being violated.
Proof of belonging
Participants at the workshop urged authorities to uphold constitutional protections and respect international obligations under UNDRIP.
They also raised barriers faced by San community members in accessing food aid and social grants, describing cases where people are turned away due to misspelt names, administrative errors or confusion over surnames.
Lorraine Mukuyu from the Tsaraxa-aibes informal settlement in Otjiwarongo said elderly residents are sometimes told to return to their birthplaces to obtain proof of belonging, an impossible demand for many born decades ago in remote areas.
These bureaucratic obstacles, participants said, leave vulnerable households without basic support.
The workshop further heard concerns about children as young as nine ending up on the streets due to poverty, abuse, neglect and alcohol-related harm.
Gender-based violence featured prominently, with reports of forced marriages and young girls pressured into transactional sex for survival.
Despite these challenges, speakers highlighted community-led successes.
Mukuyu cited women and youth programmes that have enabled former participants to train others, describing the approach as a long-term investment that empowers communities to uplift themselves.
Kobus Kaiseb from Otjikoto Lake told the San Paralegals’ National Reflection and Planning Workshop in Windhoek last week that the government bought a farm in 2007 without consulting the indigenous community living there and later designated it for resettlement, despite San families having occupied the land for more than 50 years.
He said two individuals were subsequently allocated plots on the farm, while the original community is now labelled as illegal occupiers and faces possible eviction, even though burial sites and ancestral ties exist on the land.
The San Paralegals’ National Reflection and Planning Workshop is a civil society forum that brings together San community paralegals, activists and partner organisations to reflect on legal and social challenges facing San communities.
The gathering provides a platform for documenting cases, sharing experiences, discussing constitutional protections and international instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and planning coordinated advocacy and legal support strategies.
Citing Articles 10 and 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Kaiseb said indigenous communities must not be forcibly removed without free, prior and informed consent and have the right to own, use and develop their traditional land and resources, adding that these principles are being violated.
Proof of belonging
Participants at the workshop urged authorities to uphold constitutional protections and respect international obligations under UNDRIP.
They also raised barriers faced by San community members in accessing food aid and social grants, describing cases where people are turned away due to misspelt names, administrative errors or confusion over surnames.
Lorraine Mukuyu from the Tsaraxa-aibes informal settlement in Otjiwarongo said elderly residents are sometimes told to return to their birthplaces to obtain proof of belonging, an impossible demand for many born decades ago in remote areas.
These bureaucratic obstacles, participants said, leave vulnerable households without basic support.
The workshop further heard concerns about children as young as nine ending up on the streets due to poverty, abuse, neglect and alcohol-related harm.
Gender-based violence featured prominently, with reports of forced marriages and young girls pressured into transactional sex for survival.
Despite these challenges, speakers highlighted community-led successes.
Mukuyu cited women and youth programmes that have enabled former participants to train others, describing the approach as a long-term investment that empowers communities to uplift themselves.
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