King seeks to end border dispute

King seeks to end border dispute Governor has no capacity It appears as though there is finally light at the end of the tunnel in the long-standing border dispute between the Ongandjera and the Uukwambi. The King for Ongandjera Traditional Authority, Johannes Mupongolitha Mupiya, is reportedly seeking an audience to end the long-standing border dispute with the Uukwambi at Ondjungulume village.

It is further reported that the governor for Omusati Region Erginus Endjala is failing to solve the dispute after Mupiya wrote a letter to him, requesting his intervention.

It is alleged that some leaders within the Uukwambi Traditional Authority do not want Endjala's intervention in the matter.

The Ongandjera and Uukwambi are in a long-term border dispute over who controls Ondjungulume village.

The border was verbally demarcated by the fore-leaders, but after independence, headmen changed the border.

Endjala has confirmed to Namibian Sun that he received a letter from Mupiya requesting him to intervene in the matter.

He also confirmed that there are some traditional leaders who do not welcome him into the matter, but he could not say from which traditional authority.

“It is true that I received a letter from the king of Ongandjera requesting me to intervene in their border dispute with the Uukwambi. In June this year I held a meeting with representatives of the two authorities at Ondjungulume where a technical committee was elected. I am chairing that committee and we are going to investigate the matter,” Endjala said.

He continued that due to lack of capacity, the committee has met several times but could not reach a consensus to end the problem.

“There are some senior leaders in the traditional authorities who do not cooperate and this is delaying the process. The next step is that the committee is going to meet the two traditional authorities' leaders to hear from them. After all, the committee is going to present its report and findings to be discussed at the highest level of government,”

Endjala also reported the matter to the vice-president Nickey Iyambo when the latter visited his region earlier this month.

Endjala told Iyambo that some traditional leaders requested urban and rural development minister Sophia Shaningwa's audience, but Shaningwa referred it to him.

According to those in the know, the Uukwambi-Ongandjera border dispute at Ondjungulume started in the 1990s after independence when headmen changed the demarcation.

One part of Ondjungulume formed part of Uukwambi's jurisdiction, while the other fell under the Ongandjera jurisdiction.

It is alleged that after independence the Uukwambi Traditional Authority claimed that the whole Ondjungulume village belonged to them and started allocating land without consulting the Ongandjera Traditional Authority.

This angered the Ongandjera and the dispute started.

The two authorities failed to solve this dispute and over the years the rift has deepened. When Mupiya became king last year, he made it a priority to put an end to the dispute.

He confirmed that he wrote a letter to Endjala requesting him to intervene in the dispute, but he refused to divulge more information saying the matter is still under investigation. The spokesperson for the Uukwambi Traditional Authority Reinhold Iita also confirmed that the talks are in progress over the border dispute with Ongandjera, but also refused to provide details.



ILENI NANDJATO