Govt gets Kerina farm eviction order

A high Court judge has issued an order for the eviction of two people who are occupying a resettlement farm that was allocated to Namibian independence struggle hero Mburumba Kerina.

The order for the eviction of Henrey Rukoro and Uahepena Katjivivi, which the government applied for, was issued by judge Lotta Ambunda in the Windhoek High Court last week.

Rukoro initially opposed the government’s application for an eviction order, but conceded to the granting of the order after evidence in support of the government’s claim had been presented to the court, it is recorded in the court’s order.

In a claim filed at the Windhoek High Court in December 2024, the government stated that the farm Renette in the Khomas region was acquired by the government for resettlement purposes in 2011.

In 2016, a part of the farm, 1 443 hectares in size, was allocated to Kerina, the court was informed.

Kerina died in June 2021.

The government said it discovered during 2022 that Rukoro, Katjivivi and Theo Kuzatjike were illegally occupying or sub-leasing the land that had been allocated to Kerina.
Notices to vacate the land were issued to Rukoro, Kuzatjike and Katjivivi in January 2023 and again in September 2023, but they did not heed the notices, according to the government. The agriculture minister cancelled the allotment of the farm unit to Kerina in July 2024, on a recommendation of the Land Reform Advisory Commission, the government informed the court.

In a witness statement filed at the court, a deputy director in the lands division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Clement Kwala, said two inheritance applications for the land were submitted by daughters of Kerina, Jaqueline and Kakuna, in February 2023, but both applications failed to include mandatory letters of executorship, as required in terms of the Administration of Estates Act, which stipulates that no person may liquidate or distribute the estate of a deceased person without such a letter.

Kwala said in terms of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act only the executor of the estate of someone who leased a resettlement farm may assign the lease to a person approved in writing by the minister responsible for land reform, on a recommendation of the Land Reform Advisory Commission.

Kwala also said in his witness statement that “any alleged will or testament cannot, on its own, effect an automatic transfer of lease rights, as the process must follow the statutory requirements”.

No applications for lease assignment were received from Rukoro, Katjivivi and Kuzatjike, and as a result “their occupation of the farm is unlawful and illegal”, according to Kwala.

After the minister cancelled Kerina’s lease in July 2024, the user rights over the land that had been allocated to Kerina reverted to the ministry, “which will administer the farm in accordance with the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act”, Kwala stated.

“Therefore, no person or livestock is allowed on the farm unless expressly authorised in writing by the minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform on the recommendation of the Land Reform Advisory Commission through the resettlement process,” Kwala said.

Rukoro, who is employed as an auditor in Windhoek, said in a witness statement also filed at the court that his grandmother was married to Kerina and Kerina regarded him as his stepson.

In his will, which was not signed by witnesses, Kerina bequeathed his livestock to his daughter, not mentioned by name, Rukoro and Kuzatjike, who is a nephew of Kerina.

“This will demonstrates his clear intention that I should inherit and continue to benefit from his farming operations,” Rukoro said.

He also said he has not sublet the farm to any third party and that his occupation of the farm is not unlawful. “My presence and livestock stem directly from succession under the will of the late lessee,” Rukoro said.

Government lawyer Phelem Like represented the government in the case. Rukoro was not represented by a lawyer.

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