THE son of the late !Khara-Khoen Nama sub-clan leader, Fredrick Hanse, was installed as the clan’s leader at a ceremony held at the tiny village of Amper-Bo on Saturday.
David Hanse (37) will go into the history books of the !Khara-Khoen clan as the youngest tribal leader to ascend to the chieftaincy.
Hundreds of !Khara-Khoen community members flocked to Amper-Bo village south-east of Mariental to pay tribute to their chief and traditional authority councillors, who were also installed during the ceremony.
The !Khara-Khoen clan, also known as the Simon Kooper community, under the leadership of the late Simon Kooper, had fought in the Nama-German war to resist colonialism.
During the 19th century, a group of !Khara-Khoen people migrated to Botswana to escape German colonial rule.
Simon Kooper died there on 31 January 1913.
In his acceptance speech, Hanse called on his subjects to remain united, reminding them that “unity is strength”.
Also speaking at the event Hardap governor Esme Isaack commended the !Khara-Khoen clan for a smooth succession, and appealed to all traditional authorities embroiled in succession battles to emulate the tribe’s example.
Many traditional communities in the South, such as the Witboois (/Khobesen) of Gibeon, and the //Haboben and Kharo!Oan of Blou-Wes, have been without traditional chiefs for many years after their elderly leaders failed to appoint successors. All these communities are now embroiled in leadership tussles.
Urban and rural development minister, Sophia Shaningwa, in a speech delivered on her behalf by safety and security deputy minister, Daniel Kashikola, urged Hanse to work towards addressing the challenges of water and sanitation provision, poverty and unemployment within his community.
Deviating from Shaningwa’s speech, Kashikola who doubles up as a tribal headman, cautioned tribal leaders not to look down on the concept of ‘One Namibia, One Nation’.
Kashikola urged traditional leaders to use their leverage to unite their respective communities to achieve unity in diversity.
Scores of senior government officials and traditional leaders attended the installation.
