THE Oukwanyama Traditional Authority (OTA) has issued a statement setting out its position on the border dispute with the Ondonga Traditional Authority.
OTA says it has become necessary to explicitly state its position in the light of various reports on the issue in the print and broadcast media. The authority says it is opposed to the installation of Tileinge Hapulile as senior traditional councillor of the Ondonga Traditional Authority in Ekoka village, as this area falls under the OTA’s jurisdiction.It further says that the Oukwanyama traditional leadership has over the years enjoyed a cordial relationship with successive Ondonga traditional leaders and Ondonga royal families.”This warm and cordial relationship the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority will strive to maintain,” the statement says.However, it points out that the borders between the two tribes go back a long way and cannot be traced to March 14 last year, when the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority was “politically pressurised” to sign an agreement referring only to a certain village, Oshuudhiya.”If the motive is to draw a straight line from the village mentioned in that press release northwards to demarcate the borders between Ondonga and Oukwanyama, the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority vehemently disputes such tricks and machination aimed at depriving the Ovakwanyama people of their traditional inheritance, and hereby … renounces and abandons that agreement …which was presented to the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority as a fait accompli.”According to the OTA the borders between Ondonga and Oukwanyama do not extend in a straight line, nor are they dependent on a single point of reference on the map, called Oshuudhiya.”For those in the northern part of Namibia, not a single traditional authority has borders … in a straight line.Why only those of Oukwanyama? Is there a deliberate campaign against Ovakwanyama in Namibia and who sanctioned it?” the statement continues.”The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority has instructed its legal representatives to seek legal protection for the traditional inheritance of the Oukwanyama people in Namibia.”The statement says further that the OTA is neither responsible for, nor interested in, how the Ondonga Traditional Authority goes about conducting its traditional leadership within the areas of its responsibility.Consequently, the statement says, what the Ondonga Traditional Authority does within its areas of jurisdiction and any consequences thereof, should be the sole responsibility of that authority and no one else.”The leadership of the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority calls upon the Ovakwanyama people under this authority to refrain from involving themselves … in the affairs of the Ondonga Traditional Authority now or in the future,” it says.The authority says it is opposed to the installation of Tileinge Hapulile as senior traditional councillor of the Ondonga Traditional Authority in Ekoka village, as this area falls under the OTA’s jurisdiction.It further says that the Oukwanyama traditional leadership has over the years enjoyed a cordial relationship with successive Ondonga traditional leaders and Ondonga royal families.”This warm and cordial relationship the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority will strive to maintain,” the statement says.However, it points out that the borders between the two tribes go back a long way and cannot be traced to March 14 last year, when the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority was “politically pressurised” to sign an agreement referring only to a certain village, Oshuudhiya.”If the motive is to draw a straight line from the village mentioned in that press release northwards to demarcate the borders between Ondonga and Oukwanyama, the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority vehemently disputes such tricks and machination aimed at depriving the Ovakwanyama people of their traditional inheritance, and hereby … renounces and abandons that agreement …which was presented to the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority as a fait accompli.”According to the OTA the borders between Ondonga and Oukwanyama do not extend in a straight line, nor are they dependent on a single point of reference on the map, called Oshuudhiya.”For those in the northern part of Namibia, not a single traditional authority has borders … in a straight line.Why only those of Oukwanyama? Is there a deliberate campaign against Ovakwanyama in Namibia and who sanctioned it?” the statement continues.”The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority has instructed its legal representatives to seek legal protection for the traditional inheritance of the Oukwanyama people in Namibia.”The statement says further that the OTA is neither responsible for, nor interested in, how the Ondonga Traditional Authority goes about conducting its traditional leadership within the areas of its responsibility.Consequently, the statement says, what the Ondonga Traditional Authority does within its areas of jurisdiction and any consequences thereof, should be the sole responsibility of that authority and no one else.”The leadership of the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority calls upon the Ovakwanyama people under this authority to refrain from involving themselves … in the affairs of the Ondonga Traditional Authority now or in the future,” it says.
