Widow’s plot sold off

A WIDOW in the Omusati Region is battling to regain the land she inherited from her late husband, which his sister has sold for a mere N$5 000 without her knowledge.

According to Article 26 of the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002, the land allocated by a headman or traditional chief reverts back to his authority when a person dies, but the headman/chief must then allocate it to the surviving spouse.
If the surviving spouse informs the headman or chief that he or she does not need or want the land, it must be allocated to a child of the deceased.
In the case of Hilma Shomongula, whose husband died in 1995, the plot they bought at Onandjaba near Okalongo in the Omusati Region about 15 years ago was sold by her sister-in-law, Rauha Mukwendje, to Eric Kandjaba in 2007.
‘We wanted to build a house on our plot since we lived in the house of my husband’s parents and had bricks made for that purpose, which were delivered,’ Shomongula told The Namibian last week.
‘After my husband died in 1995, the situation in the house of my in-laws was not too good and I moved to my mother’s household with my three children. In 2003, I went for further studies at Unam in Windhoek and asked my aunt Hiteni Shekudja, who is also the headwoman of Onandjaba village, where the plot is, to look after it.’
In 2005, the aunt informed the widow that nephews of her late husband were interested in buying the plot. The parties agreed that only a portion would be sold and Shomongula and her three children would keep the remainder.
‘In 2007 my aunt, the headwoman, phoned me that my plot was sold to Eric Kandjaba by one of my sisters-in-law, Rauha Mukwendje, for merely N$5 000.’
Shomongula told The Namibian that she immediately contacted Kandjaba, informing him the plot was hers and that the transaction was illegal.
Kandjaba allegedly denied this, claiming the sale was a legitimate transaction.
Several meetings with the parties involved took place under the guidance of a local pastor and the traditional authority of the area, the widow said, but no solution could be found.
Kandjaba had started building a house on the plot in the meantime.
Last month, Kandjaba used a local villager to act as intermediary to offer the widow another plot he owned in the village as compensation, plus some cash.
‘I went there but it is much smaller than my plot,’ she told The Namibian.
‘There were two meetings at the start of this year to find a solution, but we could not reach one. I feel unprotected and it is very bad that my plot was sold without my knowledge,’ Shomongula added.
‘I have sought legal support from the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and one of their lawyers sent a warning letter to Kandjaba and the traditional authority that the sale was in contravention of the Communal Land Reform Act,’ the widow stated.
LAC lawyer Zeka Alberto confirmed the case to The Namibian.
‘I however need some more information on the issue in order to prepare an eviction order to remove the person who bought the plot,’ Alberto said.
‘The eviction order will be sent out pretty soon.’
The Namibian was unable to reach Kandjaba for comment.