Chief Councillor of the Mbunza Traditional Authority, Dagbert Mukoya, has said chieftainship disputes in the two Kavango regions hamper development.

Mukoya said this in an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, with a special focus on the recently concluded court judgment in May 2024, confirming Hompa Alfons Kaundu as the legitimate chief of the Mbunza Traditional Authority.

‘The recent court judgment was taken as a great victory by Hompa Kaundu himself and the entire Mbunza Traditional Authority,’ he said.

The dispute, which dragged on from 2011, hampered development activities and the administration of the traditional authority, Mukoya said.

‘My message to the two Kavango regions is that, as much as we know that our country was founded on the basis of democracy and the rule of law, challenging and instigating unnecessary disputes among traditional authorities is a waste of time and money,’ he stated.

He said the resources used during this dispute and court-related matters could have been put to better use
in terms of the development of the traditional authority.

Kaundu, whose chieftaincy was in question, was affirmed as the rightful ruler of the Mbunza Traditional Authority by the Windhoek High Court on 31 May 2024.

According to the court judgment, after the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development received a complaint in 2012, an investigation was conducted.

The investigations revealed that Kaundu was indeed from the royal bloodline and was correctly elected as chief. They also found that, according to the family tree presented by the traditional authority, both Ester Nankali and chief Kaundu are descendants of Nkombere.

The investigations found that the nomination went through both the elders’ committee and the traditional authority, and neither of these bodies had any objection to the election of Kaundu as chief, nor was it raised with them that he is not of the royal family.

The court’s pronouncement was a result of 51 members of the Mbunza royal family approaching the High Court, seeking an order comp
elling the Minister of Urban and Rural Development to notify President Nangolo Mbumba of the removal of Kaundu as chief of the Mbunza Traditional Authority.

Despite Kaundu having been elected, the group refused to recognise him as chief. In 2011, the royal family resolved to remove Kaundu as chief and substitute him with Esteria Mbambo as the new chief.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency