Ministers cannot remove Dâure Daman chief – authority

The Dâure Daman Traditional Authority says ministers do not have the power to remove and degazzete traditional authority chiefs.

The traditional authority in a statement says the Traditional Authorities Act 25 of 2000, Articles 8 (1) and (2) provide for the removal to be initiated at the community level and then escalated to ministerial and presidential level.

“The degazetting and removal process of former chief Sagarias Seibeb was not done in accordance with the process provided for in the Traditional Authorities Act 25 of 2000 and is, therefore, unprocedural,” says the traditional authority.

It made the remarks in support of Seibeb, who was removed last November over alleged mismanagement and leadership squabbles, with the approval of president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

The law says the chief or head may be removed from office by the members of his or her traditional community in accordance with the customary law of that community.

Article 2 of the Traditional Authorities Act 25 of 2000 states: “If, by reason of removal from office as contemplated in subsection (1) or death, a chief or head of a traditional community ceases to perform the functions of his or her office, the members of that traditional community, who are authorised thereto by customary law, may designate in accordance with this act a member of that traditional community to replace such chief or head.”

The government’s decision to remove Seibeb was based on allegations of financial mismanagement.

In a letter dated 22 September 2025, urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa informed Seibeb that the ministry had started the degazetting process due to long-running dispute between the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority and a community group.

The letter referred to a consultative meeting held on 5 June 2025 to address what Sankwasa described as “a long-running dispute” between the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority and a community group.

“Government efforts to resolve the matter had failed and patience had run out,” Sankwasa had said.

Following the government’s decision, a group of community elders held a vote last June and elected Issakar Tourob as chief.

Dâure Daman community members last week said they will oppose Seibeb’s court bid to regain chieftainship.

The group said Seibeb showed that he was not fit to lead the community or work in their benefit during his tenure.

The community members said they initially supported Seibeb when he was conferred the chieftainship, however, they later realised that he was only there to promote nepotism, and self-enrichment. They, therefore, passed a community vote of no confidence and repeatedly called for his removal.

Traditional authority councillor Martin Matsuib says the allegations made against Seibeb were reported and proven to be unfounded by the Office of the Ombudsman and a team of investigators sent by the ministry.

Matsuib says the minister bought into a narrative that Seibeb was appointed unprocedurally, despite historical evidence provided to him of the procedures followed.

“As the due process provided for in the act and the legitimate entities of the traditional authority – namely the elders’ council and the traditional council – were not followed, the Traditional Authority supports the chief in seeking recourse in the courts. In a nutshell, a minister does not have powers to remove a chief of a traditional community,” the councillor says.

He cautions senior councillors who want to become chiefs to note that it is an offence to misrepresent themselves in a position that had not been bestowed to them by the legal structures.

Seibeb has approached the High Court to challenge his removal as the leader of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority.

He is also seeking a judicial review to set aside the decision taken by the president and Sankwasa.

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