More arrests of defiant farmers expected

ABOUT 40 Oshiwambo-speaking farmers grazing their cattle in western Kavango in defiance of eviction orders will be arrested and charged within a month, a senior Police officer said.

The Police Chief of Operations, Major General Tuwefeni M’lukeni, this week confirmed that John Ndiwakalunga was the first farmer to be arrested. Ndiwakalunga, who was arrested last week, has appeared in court and was released on bail of N$500.The case was postponed until November for further investigation and the decision of the Prosecutor General, M’lukeni said.M’lukeni, who was in western Kavango over the past few days, told The Namibian that a Police investigation team had been deployed there and was taking statements from cattle herders and owners to find out if they were in the area legally.He said farmers found to be in Kavango illegally would be arrested and charged in court.He estimated that about 40 farmers were in the area illegally.The spokesman for the Ovawambo Herders’ Association, Vilho Hamunyela, said the group’s members were aware of the Police presence in western Kavango and were “ready for what’s coming”.”We have already contacted our legal representative in this connection,” he said.”We are not illegally in western Kavango as some want to say.We got authority from the local traditional leaders of Chief Sitentu Mpasi and we are legally in western Kavango.”In October last year, Chief Mpasi of Ukwangali ordered all Oshiwambo-speaking farmers in west Kavango to leave the area immediately.The farmers did not respond.On November 19, the farmers were served with eviction orders and were supposed to remove their herds within seven days.The farmers defied the eviction orders, however, and held several demonstrations where they said they had no place in the former Owambo to settle with their herds.They demanded that farm fences in the former Owambo be dismantled and the land distributed fairly.An estimated 60 000 cattle belonging to Oshiwambo-speaking farmers are grazing in western Kavango, along with small stock, donkeys and horses.Ndiwakalunga, who was arrested last week, has appeared in court and was released on bail of N$500.The case was postponed until November for further investigation and the decision of the Prosecutor General, M’lukeni said.M’lukeni, who was in western Kavango over the past few days, told The Namibian that a Police investigation team had been deployed there and was taking statements from cattle herders and owners to find out if they were in the area legally.He said farmers found to be in Kavango illegally would be arrested and charged in court.He estimated that about 40 farmers were in the area illegally.The spokesman for the Ovawambo Herders’ Association, Vilho Hamunyela, said the group’s members were aware of the Police presence in western Kavango and were “ready for what’s coming”.”We have already contacted our legal representative in this connection,” he said.”We are not illegally in western Kavango as some want to say.We got authority from the local traditional leaders of Chief Sitentu Mpasi and we are legally in western Kavango.”In October last year, Chief Mpasi of Ukwangali ordered all Oshiwambo-speaking farmers in west Kavango to leave the area immediately.The farmers did not respond.On November 19, the farmers were served with eviction orders and were supposed to remove their herds within seven days.The farmers defied the eviction orders, however, and held several demonstrations where they said they had no place in the former Owambo to settle with their herds.They demanded that farm fences in the former Owambo be dismantled and the land distributed fairly.An estimated 60 000 cattle belonging to Oshiwambo-speaking farmers are grazing in western Kavango, along with small stock, donkeys and horses.