THE government has been implored to stop meddling in the affairs of traditional authorities and using them for political expediency – particularly in election years.
Contributing to a conversation on Desert Radio this week, historian and social commentator Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro called out the current administration for having created a situation in which certain traditional authorities are recognised based on their political leaning.
The conversation came after rural development minister Erastus Uutoni declined an application for long-serving Damara chief Justus //Garoëb to be recognised as paramount chief.
//Garoëb applied to be recognised as the chief of the ≠Nukhoen traditional district in the Kunene region, as well as to be recognised as the paramount chief of the Damara people.
//Garoëb, who served as a member of parliament in the National Assembly from 1990 to 2015, sent his application to Uutoni’s office through the office of the Kunene governor, Marius Sheya, this year.
“I have assessed your application form and discovered that part B of the form was omitted. Furthermore, the area of jurisdiction indicated in your form as the communal area inhabited by your community, falls under the already recognised Swartbooi Traditional Authority,” Uutoni wrote on 21 September.
“Based on the above, your application for recognition cannot be approved,” he said.
//Garoëb has been recognised by Damara-speaking people as their overall chief for over 40 years.
‘POLITICAL PARANOIA’
Matundu-Tjiparuro questioned whether it should be up to the political elite to decide what traditional leaders should be called and who should be recognised.
“This has a lot to do with political paranoia. I do not know where this fear of traditional authorities calling themselves whatever they want comes from,” he said.
Matundu-Tjiparuro said traditional authorities have existed since time immemorial.
“I am yet to see a traditional authority trying to elevate itself above the government . . .
“Whether the government recognises an authority or not should not matter . . . as much as I do not need the government to recognise my Otjiherero culture,” he said.
Matundu-Tjiparuro said he maintained that the problem is that instead of keeping traditional authorities “as keepers and upholders of traditions and cultures”, the government to use them for political reasons.
Sociologist Ellison Tjirera said traditional authorities have been “reconfigured and reconstituted” to fit into the current political system.
“Another issue has to do with the question of recognition and what that recognition is accompanied by, such as allowances from the government, cars and secretaries.
“It becomes a question of resources … because I’m giving you a car, secretary and less than N$3 000, I can now decide what you are called,” he said.
Ondonga Traditional Authority spokeperson Frans Enkali said the supreme leader in this authority has been known as a king since time immemorial.
“I have also failed to come across any provision in the Constitution that discourages the reference to our leaders as kings or paramount chiefs,” Enkali said.
He said the powers of a king, for example, is limited to the traditional authority.
Batswana chief Andrew Kgosiemang said in his community he is referred to as a paramount chief, however, the same does not apply when he interacts with the government.
“We are different clans within the Tswana community, however, the government only recognises the first clan to have come into Namibia. As such I am referred to as the paramount chief.
“But when we are engaging with the government, they do not want us to be referred to as king or paramount chiefs, and we are always reminded of that,” Kgosiemang said.
POLITICAL ALLIANCES
Tjirera referred to the perceived alliances between political parties and traditional authorities as a “mixed bag of things”.
“Some traditional authorities are aligned with Swapo. We have known this for some time now. And when it comes to voting patterns this becomes very clear.
“You will also realise that those which are aligned to Swapo are recognised by the government,” he said.
He said traditional authorities are supposed to be non-partisan or a-political.
Matundu-Tjiparuro said the issue is not about specific traditional authorities being aligned with certain political parties, but the perception that the government favours some.
“The onus is now on the government to do away with this viewpoint. It is not just a perception, but there is strong evidence where certain traditional authorities have strong claims to traditional communities and leaders in their area, yet they are not recognised. How do you explain that?” he asked.
Enkali said the Ondonga Traditional Authority is in a relationship with the government, because the functions it carries out in terms of the Traditional Authority’s Act is to promote peace and welfare among the members of that authority.
“When it comes to dispute settlement, there are community issues that are resolved by traditional authorities, and once there are other misunderstandings it goes further up to the Ministry of Justice,” he said.
He said the relationship between politics and traditional authorities is symbiotic.
“We have a direct relationship with the government. When it comes to issues of land, we have a relationship with the lands ministry. When it comes to justice issues, we deal with the justice ministry,” he said.
Enkali said there is no institutionalised alliance between the Ondonga Traditional Authority and any political party, and as such individuals have the right to choose who to vote for.
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