Farmer in North found guilty of causings arrest of chief

LAMECK Shipa, a farmer at Oshamakaka, was found guilty by the Ondonga Traditional Authority of neglecting his San workers.

Shipa is appealing the ruling in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court today. “They never told me why I was guilty,” Shipa told The Namibian on his farm on Monday.”When I asked them they said ‘You do not have the right to ask.The decision of the Traditional Council is final.”The Secretary of the Traditional Authority, Oskar Mbeeli, said yesterday that Shipa was found guilty because he caused the arrest of the Oshamakaka village headman, David Shikonda, and for claiming the headman refused to allow the burial of a Bushman woman in the village cemetery.Oshamakaka is a remote village in the Oshikoto Region, 192 kilometres east of Oshakati.Shipa approached The Namibian and said a worker on his farm, Venelao Priskila Kafita (40), a San woman, died of cancer on August 2 2004.Her husband, Longinus Jafet (38), went to the headman of the village to ask permission to bury his wife in the village cemetery.Shipa claimed the headman refused.”The headman told Jafet that Bushmen are not buried beside Oshiwambo-speaking people because they are bad luck,” said Shipa.He claimed the headman also said the woman died of cancer, which he believed could be transmitted easily to other people.Jafet and his sister-in-law, Linea Haufiku (32), built a bed of two poles and had a donkey pull the body of his wife into the bush where they buried her.When they returned to the farm, they found men from the village who said they were sent by the headman, according to Shipa, to burn down the hut where the woman died.The men forced Jafet’s nine-year-old son, Longinus, to set fire to the hut.After the hut was burned to the ground, both Jafet and men from the village went to the nearby cuca shop and the men reportedly told the headman that they had burned the hut.Shipa was not at the farm during the burning but arrived some days later.He went to the headman and asked why he had done this.”The headman didn’t want to speak to me.Because of this I went to the Police and reported the incident,” Shipa said.The Police took the headman and some people from the village in for questioning.Shipa said the headman was so angry after this questioning that he refused to allow Shipa or the family to come to the cuca shop, use the wells of the village or receive drought relief food.Jafet has since married Linea Haufiku (32), the sister of his dead wife.Shipa said the Police were reluctant to proceed with the case so he took the case to the Traditional Authority at Ondangwa.On September 28, both Shipa and Shikonda, the headman, were called before the Traditional Authority.To his surprise, Shipa was found guilty.He was told to pay an ox or N$600.He will appeal this sentence in the Magistrate’s Court today.Shikonda and people from the village met with The Namibian on Monday.”Shipa is a liar,” said Shikonda.”I never neglect Bushmen people in my village.They are my people like others in my village.I treat them the same.”He said it was not true that he forced the woman to be buried away from the village cemetery.He said only one person from the village was buried before the woman died.This grave is close to a school and he said he believed it was not good to have a cemetery beside the school.So he asked that the woman be buried away from there at a new cemetery.”When I die, I will be buried beside the Bushman woman,” he said.Shikonda also denied that he gave orders for the hut to be burned down.He said, however, the hut was infested with worms from the woman and he thought it was not safe for the people on that farm or for the community.”If Shipa was for the health of his people and the community he could not have come up with those allegations,” said Shikonda.Hambeleleni Haihambo, the village secretary, backed the headman.”Shipa came to the farm only occasionally and I have been the one who has taken care of his people, including the woman who died.””They never told me why I was guilty,” Shipa told The Namibian on his farm on Monday.”When I asked them they said ‘You do not have the right to ask.The decision of the Traditional Council is final.”The Secretary of the Traditional Authority, Oskar Mbeeli, said yesterday that Shipa was found guilty because he caused the arrest of the Oshamakaka village headman, David Shikonda, and for claiming the headman refused to allow the burial of a Bushman woman in the village cemetery.Oshamakaka is a remote village in the Oshikoto Region, 192 kilometres east of Oshakati.Shipa approached The Namibian and said a worker on his farm, Venelao Priskila Kafita (40), a San woman, died of cancer on August 2 2004.Her husband, Longinus Jafet (38), went to the headman of the village to ask permission to bury his wife in the village cemetery.Shipa claimed the headman refused.”The headman told Jafet that Bushmen are not buried beside Oshiwambo-speaking people because they are bad luck,” said Shipa.He claimed the headman also said the woman died of cancer, which he believed could be transmitted easily to other people.Jafet and his sister-in-law, Linea Haufiku (32), built a bed of two poles and had a donkey pull the body of his wife into the bush where they buried her.When they returned to the farm, they found men from the village who said they were sent by the headman, according to Shipa, to burn down the hut where the woman died.The men forced Jafet’s nine-year-old son, Longinus, to set fire to the hut.After the hut was burned to the ground, both Jafet and men from the village went to the nearby cuca shop and the men reportedly told the headman that they had burned the hut.Shipa was not at the farm during the burning but arrived some days later.He went to the headman and asked why he had done this.”The headman didn’t want to speak to me.Because of this I went to the Police and reported the incident,” Shipa said.The Police took the headman and some people from the village in for questioning.Shipa said the headman was so angry after this questioning that he refused to allow Shipa or the family to come to the cuca shop, use the wells of the village or receive drought relief food.Jafet has since married Linea Haufiku (32), the sister of his dead wife.Shipa said the Police were reluctant to proceed with the case so he took the case to the Traditional Authority at Ondangwa.On September 28, both Shipa and Shikonda, the headman, were called before the Traditional Authority.To his surprise, Shipa was found guilty.He was told to pay an ox or N$600.He will appeal this sentence in the Magistrate’s Court today.Shikonda and people from the village met with The Namibian on Monday.”Shipa is a liar,” said Shikonda.”I never neglect Bushmen people in my village.They are my people like others in my village.I treat them the same.”He said it was not true that he forced the woman to be buried away from the village cemetery.He said only one person from the village was buried before the woman died.This grave is close to a school and he said he believed it was not good to have a cemetery beside the school.So he asked that the woman be buried away from there at a new cemetery.”When I die, I will be buried beside the Bushman woman,” he said.Shikonda also denied that he gave orders for the hut to be burned down.He said, however, the hut was infested with worms from the woman and he thought it was not safe for the people on that farm or for the community.”If Shipa was for the health of his people and the community he could not have come up with those allegations,” said Shikonda.Hambeleleni Haihambo, the village secretary, backed the headman.”Shipa came to the farm only occasionally and I have been the one who has taken care of his people, including the woman who died.”