Govt car takes centre stage in Ovaherero fight

The vehicle is managed by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, who refused to recognise Katjiua's chieftainship, preferring the rival group led by Ovitoto chief Vipuira Kapuuo.The government wants the car to be given to the Kapuuo faction, which recently registered a case of theft against their rival in a bid to recover the car for their usage. The government has also made numerous attempts to have the vehicle, currently in possession of Katjiua's group, impounded, but to no avail.The two groups are involved in a tug of war over who is the 'legitimate leader' of the Ovaherero, since the death of chief Vekuii Rukoro.Katjiua claims the throne through an appointment, which Kapuuo's side says is a fallacy.“A police officer from the motor vehicle investigation unit calls me. I was at work and he was calling from this premises. The instruction was that he has come to take the car because the owner needs the car,” Katjiua said.In February, Kapuuo wrote to urban and rural development executive director Nghidinua Daniel requesting that the ministry takes custody of the vehicle.In response, in March Daniel wrote to Kapuuo and said it's best the government takes the car until the current dispute is resolved.The Katjiua group on Monday held a demonstration to hand over a petition to the urban and rural ministry, calling on them to stop interfering in the affairs of the Ovaherero community.The group in the petition also called on the ministry to stop its attempts to impound the authority's official vehicle. The academic professor said the government should provide a letter to indicate that they are taking the car. “I went on to investigate the CR number, and it was the same number we received in April while we were at Swakopmund at the reparation walk. That number, there's a case that was lodged by one of our chiefs (Vipuira) Kapuuo to impound the car,” he said. Katjiua added that, “the police were here on instruction of the ministry, but in the background, the ministry is executing the demands of Kapuuo. The ministry is sent by Kapuuo. The ministry has not made a case, but it was made by the end of March or beginning of April by chief Kapuuo”.He reiterated that the OTA is not using the car. “The car is not stolen. Put it in writing that you need the car for a particular purpose. This so that we have evidence that the ministry has requested the car, so that we know that when a paramount chief of the OTA dies, the car would be confiscated,” he noted.He added that even though the ministry is pushing for Kapuuo, he is not the lawful person for the authority. He reiterated that the Ovaherero community wants the letter with Daniel's signature, and then the ministry can take the car for good.“Don't send the police to come get the car with Kapuuo's CR number, bring your CR number, bring your letter. We don't even want another car if you confiscate this car. Don't think this authority will be dependent on the government and beg the government or your ministry for this old car. We won't be slaves or subject ourselves to that treatment because of this car,” he stressed.A director in the ministry Evans Maswahu was the representative identified to receive the vehicle. He said he'll take Katjiua's concerns to the ministry.Kapuuo's spokesperson Uazuva Kaumbi said the urban and rural ministry should deal with this matter. “We thus have nothing to say at this stage.”

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