THE late disputed Ovambanderu paramount chief, Keharanjo Nguvauva (26), often threatened to commit suicide in the past.
This was claimed yesterday by his half-brother, Deputy Fisheries Minister Kilus Nguvauva.Nguvauva said – contrary to popular belief – there was no bad blood between the two of them despite protracted legal battles in which the two played leading roles.’We had nothing personal against each other, my younger brother and I, except the chieftainship,’ Nguvauva told The NamibianThe succession battle between the two half-brothers was ignited when their father, paramount chief Munjuku II Nguvauva, died in mid-2008.However, it is widely believed that members of the opposing factions used the two siblings to promote their own agendas.Kilus Nguvauva yesterday supported this sentiment. ‘He [Keharanjo] often said to me: ‘Brother, there are certain individuals who don’t want us to meet’.’The deputy minister maintained that as far as his group is concerned, Gerson Katjirua has been the acting paramount chief after Peter Nguvauva died last year. ‘He [Keharanjo] was not a chief to me.’Peter Nguvauva’s funeral remained on hold for 55 days – from October 4 to November 28 2010 – while Kilus and Keharanjo Nguvauva fought in the High Court about where their 74-year-old uncle should be buried.Kilus Nguvauva’s faction eventually emerged as victors after it was ruled that Peter could – in accordance with Kilus Nguvauva’s application – be buried at a sacred burial site in Okahandja.Kilus Nguvauva said he could not even get out of his car on Monday when he arrived at the house of Aletta Nguvauva, Keharanjo’s mother, to convey his condolences to her.He said youngsters armed with knobkieries approached the vehicle and he was advised not to get out of the car. ‘I was not welcome there.’The deputy minister said he wants to see the contents of his half-brother’s three-page suicide note. ‘And if he explicitly did not want me at his funeral, then I will mourn at my home.’Should the note not explicit prohibit him from attending the funeral, and Keharanjo’s faction bars him from going, he might resort to a court to intervene, Kilus Nguvauva said.’My problem is the suicide note. The note will guide me as to what I should do.’It emerged yesterday that Keharanjo will probably be buried near Opuwo, where the grave of an ancestor is, on April 23.This is apparently one of the places where he indicated he would like to be buried in his suicide note.The other option is to be cremated and his ashes scattered in a river between Gobabis and Windhoek.A delegation headed by Keharanjo’s uncle, Edwin Tjiramba, went to Opuwo yesterday to investigate whether that location would be viable for the funeral.Khomas Police Deputy Commissioner Silvanus Nghishidimbwa yesterday said that the post-mortem on Monday ruled out any foul play. Keharanjo Nguvauva’s body was found hanging from the roof of a garage in Windhoek’s Khomasdal residential area at about 16h00 on Friday.His girlfriend, Jane Kambato, is a tenant at the house.Kambato yesterday reiterated that she did not want to comment at this stage.Keharanjo Nguvauva, who would have turned 27 on October 12, is survived by his mother, a daughter and 11 siblings.
