A meeting to discuss the eviction order against Thusnelde Kamutjemo and six others was postponed after Steinhausen Regional Councillor, Kilus Nguvauva, objected to the presence of a lawyer at yesterday's meeting.

Nguvauva, who is also Fisheries Deputy Minister, opposed lawyer Ben Venter being present, claiming that the Kamutjemo family was not represented by a lawyer and it was best that the two families meet to resolve the dispute.

The Namibian established, however, that both Nguvauva and the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) President, Raimar von Hase, will attend next week's meeting.

The seven respondents were given until tomorrow to get off the farm and pay Heimstadt N$950 for illegally grazing their animals, plus the costs of the case.

Heimstadt, through Venter, said he got the eviction order against the Kamutjemo family because they had no right to stay on his land.

He claimed that the former owner of the farm had an agreement with a retired farmworker, Hans Kamutjemo, there since 1957, that he could stay on the land until he died.

When Kamutjemo died almost a year ago, Heimstadt allegedly approached his wife, Thusnelde Kamutjemo, to make a similar arrangement with her.

The old people had no children.

However, Heimstadt got an eviction order against Thusnelde Kamutjemo and the family.

On Monday, Von Hase said the eviction order was not against Mrs Kamutjemo.

When approached yesterday, he said his subsequent investigations revealed that she was included in the group that was served with the eviction order.

"It was more by mistake that she was part of the group.

I was wrongly informed because she was included due to an inexplicable reason.

The owners will retract that part of the court order," Von Hase said.

However, she will still have to leave the farm.

Von Hase, who will attend Thursday's meeting as a mediator, said Mrs Kamutjemo needed to stay closer to medical facilities and for this reason the Heimstadt family will propose that they give her money and arrange accommodation in a town.

As for the others, "they never were employees on the farm".

"They moved in illegally and started squatting there.

They have to leave," Von Hase said.

He said Heimstadt also took care of Mrs Kamutjemo financially before the eviction order was served.

The Namibian was unable to verify the extent of the support Mrs Kamutjemo received from Heimstadt.

Nguvauva was upbeat that a solution would be found next week.

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