Ovambanderu on road to unity

THE deeply divided Ovambanderu community has decided to bury the hatchet in a drawn-out succession dispute that followed the death of Chief Munjuku II Nguvauva in January 2007.

A special meeting was convened at Pos 3 near Epukiro in the Omaheke Region over the weekend in a first attempt to reconcile and to prepare for the annual Ovambanderu Day at Okahandja in June.’It was a very successful meeting and about 2 000 community members attended,’ Uazenga Tjiposa, spokesperson for the group supporting Deputy Fisheries Minister Kilus Nguvauva, told The Namibian yesterday. The other group supports Kilus’s younger half brother Keharanjo Nguvauva and installed him as the new Chief in August 2008, but without Government consent.’It was decided to leave the issue about the succession and focus on the commemoration event in June at Okahandja which is to display a unified community. A committee of 10 members was appointed and it is co-chaired by two traditional councillors, Gerson Kajirua of Epukiro and Utarera Katjiuanyo,’ Tjiposa added. They initiated the meeting at Epukiro.Deputy Minister Kilus Nguvauva was present at the weekend meeting, but Keharanjo could not attend as he is studying law in South Africa. Asked if both royal brothers would attend the annual Okahandja event, Tjiposa said the committee would map out the protocol. The succession case is now in the hands of the Ministry of Local and Regional Government after the Kilus group declared a dispute. ‘We hope Government will speedily find a solution,’ Tjiposa told The Namibian.The annual Ovambanderu Day is commemorated in honour of Chief Kahimemua Nguvauva, who resisted German colonisation with his people and was executed by German soldiers on June 12 1896 after a court-martial at Okahandja, where he is buried. The late Chief Munjuku II, who died in January 2007, was buried next to him.In May 1896 Chief Kahimemua was defeated in the battle of Otjunda (Sturmfeld) in today’s Omaheke Region and he surrendered to the Germans, but sent a number of Ovambanderu people to Ngamiland in Botswana under the leadership of his son, Hiatuvao Nguvauva, grandfather of the late Chief Munjuku II Nguvauva. That was the first wave of Herero speakers to flee German colonisation. Some Ovaherero escaped into northeastern Namibia and settled near Karakuwisa. brigitte@namibian.com.na