Ovaherero chieftancy battle in court

Ovaherero Chiefs’ Council chairperson Vipuira Kapuuo is challenging chief Mutjinde Katjiua’s claim to the position of paramount chief, in a matter that commenced in the Windhoek High Court on Tuesday.

Kapuuo is seeking relief in the form of a declaration that as per Ovaherero customary law, the chairperson of the chiefs’ council becomes the acting paramount chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Community upon the death or incapacitation of the paramount chief.

The application follows the death of the Ovaherero paramount chief, advocate Vekuii Rukoro, in 2021.

According to Kapuuo, upon Rukoro’s death, the chairperson of the chiefs’ council is declared as the acting paramount chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority in terms of Ovaherero customary law, tradition and protocol.

Kapuuo is further seeking relief from the court through the invalidation of a purported chiefs’ council meeting held from 10 to 12 December 2021 at Onderombapa, calling it unlawful as it was not called by the chief’s council.

He is asking the court to review and set aside the decisions made at this meeting, insisting that as chairperson of the council, he is the rightful acting paramount chief.

That meeting reportedly endorsed Mutjinde Katjiua as the Ovaherero paramount chief.

According to Kapuuo’s lawyer, Raymond Heathcote, Katjiua assumed this title through a “coup d’état.”

Heathcote argued that the Ovaherero Traditional Authority functions like any other structured institution with rules and that the deputy should automatically succeed the paramount chief upon the chief’s death.

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