Bondelswarts chief still in charge

THE Bondelswarts clan in the South, a branch of the Nama tribe, has dismissed a report in a local newspaper that the clan’s long-serving chief, Captain Anna Christiaans (67), has been replaced.

The Republikein newspaper last week reported that Josef Christiaans, a special representative to Ann Christaans, had taken over the reins. The newspaper cited Anna Christiaans’s poor health as reason for the change in the Bondelswarts leadership.In a telephone interview yesterday, Josef Christiaans said the report was misleading the Bondelswarts people and was devoid of any truth.”In principle the Bondelswarts people have resolved that Anna Christiaans will stay put as Captain until her death and nothing will change this,” he said.According to Josef Christiaans, the Bondelswarts people only decided to remove their chief from the public eye due to her medical condition.The Captain recently went missing for a day, apparently suffering from short-term memory loss and disorientation.Josef Christiaans also told The Namibian that the chief’s council plans to discuss the clan’s land dispute with the Roman Catholic Church at a meeting set for February 6.”The land dispute issue will definitely top the meeting’s agenda,” he said.The Bondelswarts recently claimed that they were “robbed” of their ancestral land at Heiraxabes, where a Roman Catholic Church was established.The newspaper cited Anna Christiaans’s poor health as reason for the change in the Bondelswarts leadership.In a telephone interview yesterday, Josef Christiaans said the report was misleading the Bondelswarts people and was devoid of any truth.”In principle the Bondelswarts people have resolved that Anna Christiaans will stay put as Captain until her death and nothing will change this,” he said.According to Josef Christiaans, the Bondelswarts people only decided to remove their chief from the public eye due to her medical condition.The Captain recently went missing for a day, apparently suffering from short-term memory loss and disorientation.Josef Christiaans also told The Namibian that the chief’s council plans to discuss the clan’s land dispute with the Roman Catholic Church at a meeting set for February 6.”The land dispute issue will definitely top the meeting’s agenda,” he said.The Bondelswarts recently claimed that they were “robbed” of their ancestral land at Heiraxabes, where a Roman Catholic Church was established.