THE decision to have the late Ovambanderu Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II buried at Okahandja next to his grandfather Chief Kahimemua, who was executed by a German imperial firing squad there in 1896 after he revolted against the colonisers, has been met with mixed feelings by the different factions of the Ovambanderu community, which is already divided because of the succession squabble.
The ethnic group, which came like other Herero-speakers from north-central Africa, traces the royal lineages of its chiefs back over 500 years to 1490. Chief Munjuku died last Wednesday at the age of 85.His remains were moved to Ezorongondo village near Epukiro on Tuesday for the wake and other rituals to performed until yesterday.A memorial service on Friday afternoon at Okahandja will precede the state funeral early on Saturday morning.”Our Chief should be buried at Okoupanga, some 60 kilometres north of Gobabis,” said Reverend Hiskia Uanivi this week.”That is where Chief Nguvauva I is buried,” Uanivi told The Namibian.”He was born around 1750 and was buried at Okoupanga approximately 1830.”Chief Kahimemua was a grandson of Nguvauva I.The Mbanderu community straddles Angola, Namibia and Botswana.According to insiders, the late Chief told his senior councillors, including Senior Erastus Kahuure, in 2004 that he wanted his son Keharanjo to become his heir.An older son of his, Kilus Nguvauva, now Deputy Fisheries Minister, who was born from a previous relationship of the late chief, but not to an official wife, however claims to be the rightful heir.This has led to a split in the community over the past three years, with the group led by the Deputy Minister attempting to change the tribal constitution in his favour, and ousting a dozen senior traditional councillors, including Kahuure, who brought the matter before court.Last year, the High Xourt ruled that Kahuure and the other councillors should be reinstated and that the constitution should remain unchanged.The Deputy Minister’s group has appealed against the ruling and the matter will go before the High Court in March this year.Kahuure, who is a brother to the late chief, belongs to the Onganda clan, who over the centuries have been the traditional priests.A member of the Ovambanderu committee organising the traditional part of the funeral declined to comment.”We are dealing with the funeral rites now, the succession issue will only be handled afterwards,” the committee member said.”The Ovambanderu people are at serious crossroads now regarding the succession.The 23-year-old son Keharanjo is the rightful successor and heir to the holy fire,” according to Uanivi.Other sectors of the Ovambanderu community even allege witchcraft has been used to prevent the young heir from succeeding his late father.Uanivi has over the past years compiled a royal family tree of the different lineages, which he showed to The Namibian, in consultation with many elders, who can recite the lineages as is common in oral tradition and handed down from generation to generation.It shows that Keharanjo is the new successor.Chief Munjuku died last Wednesday at the age of 85.His remains were moved to Ezorongondo village near Epukiro on Tuesday for the wake and other rituals to performed until yesterday.A memorial service on Friday afternoon at Okahandja will precede the state funeral early on Saturday morning.”Our Chief should be buried at Okoupanga, some 60 kilometres north of Gobabis,” said Reverend Hiskia Uanivi this week.”That is where Chief Nguvauva I is buried,” Uanivi told The Namibian.”He was born around 1750 and was buried at Okoupanga approximately 1830.”Chief Kahimemua was a grandson of Nguvauva I.The Mbanderu community straddles Angola, Namibia and Botswana.According to insiders, the late Chief told his senior councillors, including Senior Erastus Kahuure, in 2004 that he wanted his son Keharanjo to become his heir.An older son of his, Kilus Nguvauva, now Deputy Fisheries Minister, who was born from a previous relationship of the late chief, but not to an official wife, however claims to be the rightful heir.This has led to a split in the community over the past three years, with the group led by the Deputy Minister attempting to change the tribal constitution in his favour, and ousting a dozen senior traditional councillors, including Kahuure, who brought the matter before court.Last year, the High Xourt ruled that Kahuure and the other councillors should be reinstated and that the constitution should remain unchanged.The Deputy Minister’s group has appealed against the ruling and the matter will go before the High Court in March this year.Kahuure, who is a brother to the late chief, belongs to the Onganda clan, who over the centuries have been the traditional priests.A member of the Ovambanderu committee organising the traditional part of the funeral declined to comment.”We are dealing with the funeral rites now, the succession issue will only be handled afterwards,” the committee member said.”The Ovambanderu people are at serious crossroads now regarding the succession.The 23-year-old son Keharanjo is the rightful successor and heir to the holy fire,” according to Uanivi.Other sectors of the Ovambanderu community even allege witchcraft has been used to prevent the young heir from succeeding his late father.Uanivi has over the past years compiled a royal family tree of the different lineages, which he showed to The Namibian, in consultation with many elders, who can recite the lineages as is common in oral tradition and handed down from generation to generation.It shows that Keharanjo is the new successor.
