Katjiua coronated amid Kapuuo protest
Instruments of power include sword from Muammar Gaddafi
Okahandja was a hive of activity over the weekend as factions confronted each other over the legitimacy of the Ovaherero paramount chieftaincy.
Professor Mutjinde Katjiua was handed instruments of power over the weekend to begin his reign as paramount chief of Ovaherero – amid intense opposition by supporters of Chief Vipuira Kapuuo, the chairperson of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) chief’s council.
Kapuuo has challenged Katjiua to stand in a ‘properly’ constituted election if he claims to have the support of the majority of the Ovaherero people.
Despite ongoing disputes, including a lawsuit and a recent High Court ruling that he has no locus standi to act on behalf of the Ovaherero people, Katjiua was coronated as paramount chief during a grand occasion which saw him ascending to a glamourous throne imported from the United States of America and weighing a solid 52 kilograms.
At the event, which took place at a private farm called Omusarakoumba, situated 18 kilometres outside Okahandja, where hundreds of his supporters camped to avoid clashing with the small gathering of Kapuuo loyals, Katjiua received a cane also imported from America.
He was also handed the symbols of power, a sword gifted to the late paramount chief Hosea Kutako by the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the paramount chiefs’ plaque, which is handed over from one paramount chief to the next.
In the face of opposition from the Kapuuo faction, Katjiua insisted that there should be no doubt that he is the paramount chief, pointing out that he was duly elected at Onderombapa in the Aminuis constituency.
However, Kapuuo argued that according to Ovaherero customary laws and tradition, the chairperson of the chiefs’ council should step in as acting paramount chief when the incumbent dies.
Hijacked
Katjiua further unveiled the tombstone of the late paramount chief Vekuii Rukoro at the Chiefs Memorial Shrine, who died last year and who he served as advisor.
He then headed a transitional committee to fill the vacuum caused by Rukoro’s death.
However, Kapuuo insisted that Katjiua and his supporters used the transitional committee to hijack the paramount chief position without going to through due processes.
Nothing personal
Kapuuo’s advisor, Dr Uazuva Kaumbi, who formed part of the council chairperson’s modest following and who paid their respects to the fallen Ovaherero supreme chiefs as part of the Red Flag Association commemoration, emphasised yesterday that they do not recognise Katjiua as the paramount chief of the OTA and that he should prove his strength in a duly constituted election process.
“It is difficult to just accept Katjiua, but we can accept him if he participates in the process used to elect a new chief. If he subjects himself to that and becomes a candidate and if he wins, then of course we will accept him as the paramount chief.
“But not in the manner that he has done now, that is not on. If he is willing to contest, we know there are three candidates and if they contest and Katjiua wins, then there is nothing we can do. It is nothing personal,” he said.
The Kapuuo faction also does not recognise the late Rukoro’s tombstone unveiling and therefore - during their homage tour through the Chiefs’ Memorial Shrine - they completely ignored the newly unveiled monument.
According to Kaumbi, the process was not done properly, but they are consulting on how to deal with it.
“We have to find out from the traditional priest, maybe there is a ritual that has to be done in order to normalise that, so to speak, so I will have to speak to priest about how it is to be done,” he said.
Mediation
He added that a mediation process initiated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) will continue and they are hopeful that a consensus will be reached and compromises made.
He added that this will, however, not happen if Katjiua does not subject himself to the OTA election processes.
“Bishop Sageus /Keib has indicated that they would like to continue. We had hoped that there would be some kind of consensus before the unveiling. There was also an arrangement by a group of concerned pastors who scheduled a meeting. Whether that is still on, we don’t know.
“We believe that there will be some solution - if we agree to go our separate ways, that is also an option,” he said.
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Kapuuo has challenged Katjiua to stand in a ‘properly’ constituted election if he claims to have the support of the majority of the Ovaherero people.
Despite ongoing disputes, including a lawsuit and a recent High Court ruling that he has no locus standi to act on behalf of the Ovaherero people, Katjiua was coronated as paramount chief during a grand occasion which saw him ascending to a glamourous throne imported from the United States of America and weighing a solid 52 kilograms.
At the event, which took place at a private farm called Omusarakoumba, situated 18 kilometres outside Okahandja, where hundreds of his supporters camped to avoid clashing with the small gathering of Kapuuo loyals, Katjiua received a cane also imported from America.
He was also handed the symbols of power, a sword gifted to the late paramount chief Hosea Kutako by the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the paramount chiefs’ plaque, which is handed over from one paramount chief to the next.
In the face of opposition from the Kapuuo faction, Katjiua insisted that there should be no doubt that he is the paramount chief, pointing out that he was duly elected at Onderombapa in the Aminuis constituency.
However, Kapuuo argued that according to Ovaherero customary laws and tradition, the chairperson of the chiefs’ council should step in as acting paramount chief when the incumbent dies.
Hijacked
Katjiua further unveiled the tombstone of the late paramount chief Vekuii Rukoro at the Chiefs Memorial Shrine, who died last year and who he served as advisor.
He then headed a transitional committee to fill the vacuum caused by Rukoro’s death.
However, Kapuuo insisted that Katjiua and his supporters used the transitional committee to hijack the paramount chief position without going to through due processes.
Nothing personal
Kapuuo’s advisor, Dr Uazuva Kaumbi, who formed part of the council chairperson’s modest following and who paid their respects to the fallen Ovaherero supreme chiefs as part of the Red Flag Association commemoration, emphasised yesterday that they do not recognise Katjiua as the paramount chief of the OTA and that he should prove his strength in a duly constituted election process.
“It is difficult to just accept Katjiua, but we can accept him if he participates in the process used to elect a new chief. If he subjects himself to that and becomes a candidate and if he wins, then of course we will accept him as the paramount chief.
“But not in the manner that he has done now, that is not on. If he is willing to contest, we know there are three candidates and if they contest and Katjiua wins, then there is nothing we can do. It is nothing personal,” he said.
The Kapuuo faction also does not recognise the late Rukoro’s tombstone unveiling and therefore - during their homage tour through the Chiefs’ Memorial Shrine - they completely ignored the newly unveiled monument.
According to Kaumbi, the process was not done properly, but they are consulting on how to deal with it.
“We have to find out from the traditional priest, maybe there is a ritual that has to be done in order to normalise that, so to speak, so I will have to speak to priest about how it is to be done,” he said.
Mediation
He added that a mediation process initiated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) will continue and they are hopeful that a consensus will be reached and compromises made.
He added that this will, however, not happen if Katjiua does not subject himself to the OTA election processes.
“Bishop Sageus /Keib has indicated that they would like to continue. We had hoped that there would be some kind of consensus before the unveiling. There was also an arrangement by a group of concerned pastors who scheduled a meeting. Whether that is still on, we don’t know.
“We believe that there will be some solution - if we agree to go our separate ways, that is also an option,” he said.
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