Kavango grazing dispute lands back in Court

THE fate of cattle owners facing the prospect of being ordered out of grazing areas that they have been using in the Kavango Region for years is now in the hands of the High Court.

Judgement in a case in which the court is being asked to order the eviction of nine cattle owners and their herdsmen from areas in the Kavango Region that are under the authority of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority was reserved by Acting Judge John Manyarara after a day-long hearing of arguments in the High Court in Windhoek on Wednesday last week. In the case before Acting Judge Manyarara, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, its head, Chief Daniel Sitentu Mpasi, the Kavango Communal Land Board and Government are asking for a court order that would evict nine cattle owners whose livestock are using grazing areas in the west of the Kavango Region from those grazing areas, while also preventing them from occupying areas under Chief Mpasi’s control and using it for grazing.The ethnically charged dispute over the presence of Oshiwambo-speaking cattle owners’ livestock in areas under the control of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority first made a turn through the High Court about a year ago, when the nine cattle owners whose herdsmen and animals had been chased out of that area of the Kavango Region obtained a court order allowing their animals to remain in the area that they have been using for grazing for years.That court order came with the added condition that Chief Mpasi and his traditional authority could at a later stage take legal action under the Communal Land Reform Act to attempt to have the livestock removed from their area.That day of legal action arrived last week.The nine cattle owners involved in the case have some 1 670 head of cattle in the part of the Kavango Region that is the focus of the dispute, a senior traditional councillor of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, Rudolf Ngondo, has informed the court in an affidavit.The nine cattle owners have been using grazing areas in the Kavango Region from as far back as 1991 in the case of two of the owners, or 1992 in the case of another two, while the most recently arrived of the nine cattle owners in the Kavango Region has been using that area for grazing since 2000, according to Ngondo.He informed the court that an area of about 6 760 square kilometres – measuring about 52 km from west to east and about 130 km from north to south – is being occupied by the nine farmers involved in the case.With some 73 cattle owners from elsewhere also illegally using grazing areas in that part of the Kavango Region, an enormous problem of competition for grazing exists in those areas, Ngondo has indicated.He alleged that the nine cattle owners involved in the case are presently illegally occupying the communal land that they are using for grazing, as they did not acquire a right to graze their cattle in that area in accordance with either Ukwangali customary law or to Communal Land Reform Act – something which the nine farmers themselves are disputing, though.Despite eviction notices having been issued to the nine and criminal charges having been laid against them, they are still remaining in the area, competing for the same scarce resources with local residents, and the High Court should now help enforce the law by ordering them out of the area, Ngondo indicated.On behalf the nine cattle owners, one of the farmers, Vilho Tulyaameni Hamunyela, stated in an affidavit that all nine farmers obtained the needed permission from a headman of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority before they were allowed to bring their cattle into the area in question.Hamunyela argued that the nine had a right to use the communal land in question since before the 1992 Communal Land Reform Act came into operation, and that in terms of this law they still have time until January 15 2009 to apply to have their rights on that land recognised and registered.The area in question is sparsely populated, with enough grazing for its residents and the nine farmers, Hamunyela claimed.He charged that by deciding that the nine cattle owners were illegally using the grazing areas and trying to have them evicted, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, Chief Mpasi and the Kavango Communal Land Board “are acting as investigators, prosecutors and judges at the same time”.This is “a totally unacceptable situation,” Hamunyela stated.Deputy Government Attorney Nixon Marcus represented Government and the other applicants in last week’s hearing.Christian Mouton is representing the nine cattle owners on instructions from Metcalfe Legal Practitioners.In the case before Acting Judge Manyarara, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, its head, Chief Daniel Sitentu Mpasi, the Kavango Communal Land Board and Government are asking for a court order that would evict nine cattle owners whose livestock are using grazing areas in the west of the Kavango Region from those grazing areas, while also preventing them from occupying areas under Chief Mpasi’s control and using it for grazing.The ethnically charged dispute over the presence of Oshiwambo-speaking cattle owners’ livestock in areas under the control of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority first made a turn through the High Court about a year ago, when the nine cattle owners whose herdsmen and animals had been chased out of that area of the Kavango Region obtained a court order allowing their animals to remain in the area that they have been using for grazing for years.That court order came with the added condition that Chief Mpasi and his traditional authority could at a later stage take legal action under the Communal Land Reform Act to attempt to have the livestock removed from their area.That day of legal action arrived last week.The nine cattle owners involved in the case have some 1 670 head of cattle in the part of the Kavango Region that is the focus of the dispute, a senior traditional councillor of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, Rudolf Ngondo, has informed the court in an affidavit.The nine cattle owners have been using grazing areas in the Kavango Region from as far back as 1991 in the case of two of the owners, or 1992 in the case of another two, while the most recently arrived of the nine cattle owners in the Kavango Region has been using that area for grazing since 2000, according to Ngondo.He informed the court that an area of about 6 760 square kilometres – measuring about 52 km from west to east and about 130 km from north to south – is being occupied by the nine farmers involved in the case.With some 73 cattle owners from elsewhere also illegally using grazing areas in that part of the Kavango Region, an enormous problem of competition for grazing exists in those areas, Ngondo has indicated.He alleged that the nine cattle owners involved in the case are presently illegally occupying the communal land that they are using for grazing, as they did not acquire a right to graze their cattle in that area in accordance with either Ukwangali customary law or to Communal Land Reform Act – something which the nine farmers themselves are disputing, though.Despite eviction notices having been issued to the nine and criminal charges having been laid against them, they are still remaining in the area, competing for the same scarce resources with local residents, and the High Court should now help enforce the law by ordering them out of the area, Ngondo indicated.On behalf the nine cattle owners, one of the farmers, Vilho Tulyaameni Hamunyela, stated in an affidavit that all nine farmers obtained the needed permission from a headman of the Ukwangali Traditional Authority before they were allowed to bring their cattle into the area in question.Hamunyela argued that the nine had a right to use the communal land in question since before the 1992 Communal Land Reform Act came into operation, and that in terms of this law they still have time until January 15 2009 to apply to have their rights on that land recognised and registered.The area in question is sparsely populated, with enough grazing for its residents and the nine farmers, Hamunyela claimed.He charged that by deciding that the nine cattle owners were illegally using the grazing areas and trying to have them evicted, the Ukwangali Traditional Authority, Chief Mpasi and the Kavango Communal Land Board “are acting as investigators, prosecutors and judges at the same time”.This is “a totally unacceptable situation,” Hamunyela stated.Deputy Government Attorney Nixon Marcus represented Government and the other applicants in last week’s hearing.Christian Mouton is representing the nine cattle owners on instructions from Metcalfe Legal Practitioners.