Evicted farmers stay put in west Kavango

CATTLE farmers from the former Owambo who are occupying grazing areas in the Ukwangali tribal area of the Kavango Region have not yet moved an inch despite a Government order that they should leave.

“We will not move until Government has given us areas where we can put our cattle,” one of the evicted farmers, Amunyela Vilho, told The Namibian yesterday. Last month eviction orders were served on more than 40 farmers.They were told to have their cattle out of the area by November 19 or face legal consequences.Vilho said the farmers are still waiting for Government to tell them where they should take their cattle.He alleged that Government was siding with the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, while it was senior Government officials who had caused the grazing shortage by fencing off huge tracts of communal land for their private use.Vilho also claimed that it was not true that the farmers were in Kavango illegally, saying that they had discussed their moves with some traditional chiefs there.”How can we be illegally there if Ukwangali Chief Sitentu Mpasi has even given cattle to our farmworkers to graze them,” he asked.Some farmers sought and were granted permission to graze their animals in west Kavango, but others subsequently moved in illegally.While the precise number of farmers from the former Owambo in the area are not known, the number of cattle they have grazing there is estimated at more than 60 000.Government ordered the cattle farmers, mainly from the Ondonga and Oukwanyama tribal areas, to return to their areas after the Uukwangali Traditional Authority complained that they had taken over the grazing areas illegally.The farmers have been warned more than once that if they do not comply with the order, legal steps will be taken against them.The Chief of Operations of the Namibian Police, Major General Tuweefeni M’lukeni, said he could not comment on the matter as it has now been referred to “ministerial level”.The public relations officer of the Ministry of Safety and Security, Ignatius Mainga, was not available for comment.Last month eviction orders were served on more than 40 farmers.They were told to have their cattle out of the area by November 19 or face legal consequences.Vilho said the farmers are still waiting for Government to tell them where they should take their cattle.He alleged that Government was siding with the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, while it was senior Government officials who had caused the grazing shortage by fencing off huge tracts of communal land for their private use.Vilho also claimed that it was not true that the farmers were in Kavango illegally, saying that they had discussed their moves with some traditional chiefs there.”How can we be illegally there if Ukwangali Chief Sitentu Mpasi has even given cattle to our farmworkers to graze them,” he asked.Some farmers sought and were granted permission to graze their animals in west Kavango, but others subsequently moved in illegally.While the precise number of farmers from the former Owambo in the area are not known, the number of cattle they have grazing there is estimated at more than 60 000.Government ordered the cattle farmers, mainly from the Ondonga and Oukwanyama tribal areas, to return to their areas after the Uukwangali Traditional Authority complained that they had taken over the grazing areas illegally.The farmers have been warned more than once that if they do not comply with the order, legal steps will be taken against them.The Chief of Operations of the Namibian Police, Major General Tuweefeni M’lukeni, said he could not comment on the matter as it has now been referred to “ministerial level”.The public relations officer of the Ministry of Safety and Security, Ignatius Mainga, was not available for comment.