Bwabwata Kwe community wants own chief

The Kwe community, residing in Bwabwata National Park, is petitioning the government to approve their application to have a chief of their own.

The Kwe Chieftainship Committee, from the Zambezi and Kavango East regions, handed over its petition to the office of the governor at Katima Mulilo on Thursday.

The petition is addressed to president Nangolo Mbumba and the speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi.

In the petition, which was read on their behalf by Diveru Kapinga, committee members said it is their constitutional right to have their designated chief, Thaddeus Chedau, recognised by the government.

“We have our own distinct indigenous language and knowledge that shows we are not part of the Hambukushu community. We are not asking for a favour or a privilege, but for our rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

“We would have advanced and achieved much more by now if the people in positions of power in government and traditional authorities acted not subjectively towards us, the Kwe people,” he said.

Kapinga said they need the government to approve the application to be granted their own constituency and that the constituency be registered under the Zambezi Regional Council.

Considering that Zambezi governor Lawrence Sampofu and regional leaders have been urguing them to have their own chief and constituency, their developmental needs would be on par with other constituencies, he said.

“We, as the minority, are always overlooked and left out of being able to participate in crucial decision-making and authoritative government structures. Currently, the Kwe people are being sidelined when it comes to development in our respective villages, because the leaders are not from our ethnic group and therefore don’t have our needs at heart.

“There are Kwe villages that are still faced with water scarcity and no access to the national electricity grid. There are no employment opportunities at our villages,” he said.

Kaseta Khumalo, a young member of the Kwe community, said if the government does not respond to their demand to recognise Chedau within two weeks, they will go camping outside the offices of the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development until they get an answer.

“If we have our own constituency, then issues such as development and youth unemployment will be addressed,” he said.

The Hambukushu Traditional Authority in March sought Mbumba’s intervention after minister of urban and rural development Erastus Uutoni approved the recognition of the Khwe Traditional Authority.

It was done without prior consultation with them, the authority said.

Hambukushu Traditional Authority chief Erwin Mbambo said the authority already has historical jurisdiction over the Bwabwata National Park and that the appointment of a Khwe chief would lead to confusion and division among particularly the Hambukushu and Khwe communities.

This has resulted in the process of recognising the Kwe chief being put on hold.