Union renews vow to take over Ongombo West farm

THE Namibia Farmworkers Union (Nafwu) says it will “peacefully” evict the Wiese family from Ongombo West farm after it failed to reinstate evicted workers by yesterday’s deadline, set by the union.

The national organiser of Nafwu, Samson Amupanda, said the Wiese family would be compelled to vacate the farm as it had failed to respond positively to the unions’ demands. “We want them to leave peacefully.We don’t want to use force, but if they are refusing to leave what are they inviting?” Amupanda asked.The Nafwu leader said the union expected trouble when its moves in to remove the Wiese family.”This is a war of blacks against blacks.Our brothers (from the Police Special Field Force) are being used against us.We are expecting guns but, that was not our intention,” Amupanda said.Nafwu representatives, accompanied by about 500 supporters, handed a petition to the Wiese family on Sunday demanding that the withdrawal of an eviction order issued against six farmworkers and their families.Cornelia Rooinasie, Elias //Hoeb, Immanuel //Hoebeb, Wilfred //Hoebeb, Erik !Ganeb and Ben !Ganeb were fired after they deserted the workplace without permission.The union also demanded that the evicted workers be unconditionally reinstated, that they be granted their tenure rights without delay and that the farm owner should respect the fundamental rights of the workers as enshrined in the Namibian Constitution and the Labour Act.According to Amupanda, the farm owner said they had followed all procedures required by Namibian laws before the employees were evicted.The Wiese family gave the workers until the end of October to leave the premises and after waiting two-and-a-half months, obtained a court order to evict them.The six claim they were dismissed after refusing to sign some documents during a meeting with their employers and officials from the Ministry of Labour.They refused to sign the documents because they had no idea of their contents and their representatives from Nafwu were absent.Meanwhile, the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) has called on its members not to rest on their laurels but help Government to accelerate the land reform programme.In a message posted on its website, the NAU commended the Police and the Government for stopping representatives of Nafwu from entering Ongombo West on Sunday.”What is of importance is that Mr Wiese followed the right procedures from the beginning and acted within the law,” said the NAU.Earlier the two unions met to resolve the issue but the farmworkers’ union announced that the talks had failed.Nafwu claimed that those who owned land in Namibia did not embrace the Government’s approach for reform and that the majority of the white commercial farmers had taken advantage of the soft approach towards land reform.”We want them to leave peacefully. We don’t want to use force, but if they are refusing to leave what are they inviting?” Amupanda asked. The Nafwu leader said the union expected trouble when its moves in to remove the Wiese family. “This is a war of blacks against blacks. Our brothers (from the Police Special Field Force) are being used against us. We are expecting guns but, that was not our intention,” Amupanda said. Nafwu representatives, accompanied by about 500 supporters, handed a petition to the Wiese family on Sunday demanding that the withdrawal of an eviction order issued against six farmworkers and their families. Cornelia Rooinasie, Elias //Hoeb, Immanuel //Hoebeb, Wilfred //Hoebeb, Erik !Ganeb and Ben !Ganeb were fired after they deserted the workplace without permission. The union also demanded that the evicted workers be unconditionally reinstated, that they be granted their tenure rights without delay and that the farm owner should respect the fundamental rights of the workers as enshrined in the Namibian Constitution and the Labour Act. According to Amupanda, the farm owner said they had followed all procedures required by Namibian laws before the employees were evicted. The Wiese family gave the workers until the end of October to leave the premises and after waiting two-and-a-half months, obtained a court order to evict them. The six claim they were dismissed after refusing to sign some documents during a meeting with their employers and officials from the Ministry of Labour. They refused to sign the documents because they had no idea of their contents and their representatives from Nafwu were absent. Meanwhile, the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) has called on its members not to rest on their laurels but help Government to accelerate the land reform programme. In a message posted on its website, the NAU commended the Police and the Government for stopping representatives of Nafwu from entering Ongombo West on Sunday. “What is of importance is that Mr Wiese followed the right procedures from the beginning and acted within the law,” said the NAU. Earlier the two unions met to resolve the issue but the farmworkers’ union announced that the talks had failed. Nafwu claimed that those who owned land in Namibia did not embrace the Government’s approach for reform and that the majority of the white commercial farmers had taken advantage of the soft approach towards land reform.