ONDONGA king-in-waiting Fillemon Shuumbwa yesterday dismissed the letter purportedly written by Ondonga king Immanuel Elifas claiming to have withdrawn his appointment as heir to the throne as nonsense.
Although Shuumbwa said he was yet to see the letter when The Namibian contacted him yesterday, he said he does not take the contents of such a letter seriously.
“I have not seen it myself, but somebody who dropped it at my house called me. My wife has looked at the contents, and told me about it. Those are just people who are doing their things at Ombala (palace) as usual,” he said.
The letter – dated 13 April 2017 – is written on the Ondonga Traditional Authority’s letterhead, and was purportedly written and signed by king Elifas. It has a stamp and a fingerprint.
“Kindly take note that after thorough and wide consultations with elders of the royal family present and some selected senior members of the community regarding the subject matter, I have decided to unequivocally revoke your previous appointment letter dated 05 October 2004, as well as alleged appointment letter dated 2 July 2012, and all subsequent and/or previous related appointments that I may have made orally, impliedly or otherwise with immediate effect and upon receipt of this letter,” it read.
In the letter, king Elifas said he was confident that the decision was compliant with the Traditional Authorities Act of 2000.
Shuumbwa said he does not recognise the letter, and advised his followers to do the same.
“If you look at that paper, I heard there is a thumbprint and signature. How can an authentic letter have both? That letter is not from the king. Somebody came up with it and its contents,” he said.
A source close to the Ondonga council told The Namibian yesterday that a group which ‘hijacked’ the Ondonga Traditional Authority since Thursday is behind the letter.
“My brother, all we know is that the king is sick and cannot make any decision. At the moment, he has been taken hostage, and people are using him. The old man has no peace or freedom, and he is being used. We want government to intervene. We have tried our best, but we are tired. Government should act to remove these ‘hijackers’ and restore peace,” the source said.
The letter came after the suspension of eight Ondonga councillors and the closure of the traditional authority offices last week.
All these are linked to a succession tussle between Shuumbwa and Oscar Sheehama, another of king Elifas’ grandchildren.
Nepando Sackaria Amupanda, the acting spokeperson of the Ondonga traditional authority, could not be reached to comment on the letter as his mobile phone went unanswered.
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