President to attend disputed Damara festival

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba leads a host of other dignitaries who will grace a Damara festival planned for this weekend amidst a dispute over the recognition of the organisers.

Recognised Damara traditional chiefs will come together with their followers under the umbrella of the Damara Traditional Chiefs’ Council at Okombahe tomorrow despite a decision by Damara King Justus //Garoëb not to join them.Also at the gathering will be the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, Ndonga King Eliphas Kauluma, Gender Equality Minister Marlene Mungunda, Lands Minister Alpheus !Naruseb, Bishop Zephania Kameeta and Bishop Emeritus Hendrik Frederick.The vice chairperson of the organising committee, Joseph Araëb, said the festival will be held under the theme ‘Damara people unite’.’The recognised chiefs decided to have a harmonised festival based on nation building and Chief Immanuel /Gâseb of the !Oe≠Gân traditional authority was mandated to coordinate the festival with the help of other chiefs,’ Araëb said./Gâseb is the Vice Chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders but has been at loggerheads with //Garoëb for the last couple of years.In 2007 he led a group of chiefs who boycotted the annual Damara Gaob Festival, which eventually did not take place because of the ever-widening rift among the Damara people. The disunity is mainly fuelled by the political affiliation of its clan leaders and remain between the King’s Council (KC) headed by //Garoëb and the Chiefs’ Council (CC) led by /Gâseb.The division started after the Traditional Authorities Act was implemented and the Government recognised several chiefs who formed their own council outside the King’s Council, which was accepted within the framework of Damara customary law.While the King’s Council felt that the recognised chiefs were nominated by //Garoëb and must thus report to them, those in the Chiefs’ Council decided to deal directly with Government.The Chiefs’ Council felt they were never involved with the establishment of the festival organising committee and felt it was outside the parameters of the legislative authority.While the festival committee was promoting this weekend’s festival, there was a counter-move to disrupt the festival through calls on the NBC’s Damara/Nama radio service call-in programmes.Followers of the Chiefs’ Council used similar methods in 2007 to disrupt the Gaob festival.