Haichas chapter finally closed

NATIVE WATCHDOG WRITES:

The long awaited and much talked about Haichas case has finally been closed.

Further to a cursory consideration of the facts and the merits of the case placed before the Köes lower court on 17 September 2018, the legal fraternity involved in the case has resolved to withdraw it on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

The charges were so confusing, it was even not clear who the legitimate plaintiff in the matter was and whether the farm is a resettlement place and/or whether it resorts under the Vaalgras traditional communal land or not. As per the documentation in the hands of some defendants, the Government bought the farm about 5 years ago, incorporated it into the Vaalgras communal land and handed it over to the Vaalgras Traditional Authority.

The genuine purpose was to expand the Vaalgras communal grazing land for the upcoming and emerging farmers, who has farming at heart. At the end they were spreading rumours that the farm was apparently given to them for game farming and projects etc., which is a blatant lie.

The issue came up at a very sensitive and wrong time, on the eve of the controversial 2nd National Land Conference. So, the courts had no choice than to wipe it off the court roll.

The flip side of this controversy was that some of these so-called invaders did apply to the Vaalgras Traditional Authority for grazing, but their letters were ignored, simply because they are supporters of the Vaalgras Interim Committee, although bona fide inhabitants of Vaalgras with constitutional birth rights. The plaintiffs were repeatedly claiming that they are going to remove the border fence between Haichas and the Vaalgras communal reserve.

We dare them to go to that political idiocy, coercive and cantankerous action. We will lay charges of malicious damage to state property against them and should they be found guilty they should be removed from office as well.

The rudimentary mistake that they made was not to put in farmers even of their own choice there at Haichas. On the contrary, these people that they called invaders, have now become new legitimate inhabitants of the farm on the basis of the court judgement, unless challenged in court through a new charge.

The defeat is actually a slap in the face for the deposed leadership. The longer they are in power, the more unbecoming things they will experience.

The three (3) new occupants will now decide who they will accommodate there. The administration of Haichas has fallen out of the hands of Vaalgras Traditional Authority, owing to their own myopia.

I just hope that the recently concluded meeting of the Council of Traditional Leaders have come up with proper resolutions relating to the "mess" within traditional authorities.

Let me put it on record that H.E. the President, Dr. Hage Geingob's intervention in the Ondongo leadership tussle was rudimentary wrong. If he cannot intervene in the disputes and wrangles of all the other tribes, viz. the Nama speaking tribes of southern Namibia, it is wrong for the President to say these tribes should resolve their differences internally.

Which leader has ever accepted defeat in this era of vote rigging etc.?