!Oe#Gan Chief Immanuel #Nu-Axa /Gaseb said two weeks ago that statements about unity among Damaras and closer co-operation between the King's Council and the Chiefs' Council were nowhere near the truth.

He claimed that Damara king Justus //Garoëb hijacked a meeting in Otjiwarongo at the end of June and created an impression that the two groups had agreed that the King's Council would be above the Chiefs' Council.

//Garoëb said /Gaseb's claim was "very serious" and needed to be treated as such.

That was the main reason why the King's Council had not responded so far.

"I am hoping to have all members of the King's Council at Sesfontein for the Nami Daman festival.

We intend using some of the time there to discuss the issue," he told The Namibian yesterday.

Once the King's Council had deliberated on the issue, //Garoëb said, it will be referred to the Damara community for input before a final decision is taken.

/Gaseb said earlier that he called the Otjiwarongo meeting and invited members of the King's Council to discuss unity, poverty, genocide and socio-economic upliftment.

However, it was "deliberately disrupted by those who wanted to use the platform to legitimise the currently defunct and nationally irrelevant King's Council".

The Chiefs' Council was established by seven recognised Damara traditional communities.

Government has refused to recognise the legitimacy of the King's Council.

Those in the Chiefs' Council feel that people who are not recognised by Government as traditional leaders cannot make decisions on their behalf or approve decisions they have made.

/Gaseb said the Otjiwarongo meeting was "hijacked by individuals with ulterior motives" and turned into a "platform for reviving the King's Council".

Earlier, the Damara King's Council issued a statement in which it said that the Otjiwarongo meeting had decided to revive the King's Council and to review its constitution to be in line with the most recent political and customary trends in the country.

According to that statement, members of the restructured King's Council were expected to be presented to the Damara community at a general meeting at Okombahe during the weekend of July 26.

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