Karas Governor Must Help Unite

I REFER to the article ‘Karas governor dragged into clan strife’ (The Namibian, 28 May 2010). As a young son from the Goliath clan, I am deeply disappointed by the actions of the said governor.

Firstly I would like to know whether the governor knows and understands his duties and responsibilities as a Governor. He is mandated to serve the people of his region without fear and favour irrespective of race and political affiliation. He is also mandated in cases of chaos and disunity to play a pivotal role in uniting his people and to play a meaningful role in attaining peace and unity amongst his people. It is disheartening to see that the said Governor is doing everything in his vested powers to deny the Goliath/Isaak clans to attain the ultimate goal of achieving unity. It has been a long walk of 50 years to unite the two clans and now that we have arrived, we cannot allow anything or anyone to deny us that. The people have spoken and nobody was left out by Reverend Stephanus Tiboth to attend that groundbreaking meeting on 24 April at Berseba. The said governor was invited but wanted the meeting to be postponed for reasons known to him. We who attended the meeting gave joint mandate to the two chiefs to lead and represent the two clans. The Governor held a meeting at his residence on the same night where he decided to approach President Pohamba to nullified the mandate given to the two Chiefs.There is nothing the Governor or Pohamba can do to deny us the opportunity to elect leaders of our choice whom we have democratically mandated to lead the two clans. Don’t you want to be remembered as the Governor who played a instrumental role in uniting the two clans? There are two ways of leadership: to lead from the front or the back. The latter leadership deals with when you allow people to do things and take decisions on their own without influencing the outcome of that decision, you only set the course. That’s exactly what Reverend Tiboth did, he only facilitated the meeting between the two clans and we were the ones who steered the ship to where we wanted it to go; he did not influence the outcome of that meeting. The ultimate goal was to achieve unity. Mr Governor, you are the one advocating now that the two Chiefs must include the splinter group in the unity attempts. Why did you not advise them when they met under your roof while there were efforts being made to unite the clans? Now you claim some people were excluded or left behind. You must not think in terms of days, weeks or years, you must think in terms of decades. That’s how independence was achieved. Without being influenced, my forefathers took up arms and started fighting. The ultimate aim was the achievement of Independence. That’s the view you must take.DJGVia e-mailNote: Name and address provided – Ed