Rukoro elected OvaHerero Paramount Chief

Advocate Vekuii Rukoro was on Monday elected as Paramount Chief of the OvaHerero under the OvaHerero Traditional Authority.

He succeeds erstwhile OvaHerero Paramount Chief, Kuaima Riruako who succumbed to a long illness in June this year.

Rukoro was elected during the on-going OvaHerero Chiefs’ Council gathering at Ehungiro, located some 30km north of Otjinene in the Omaheke Region.

The meeting, which ends Thursday, is being attended by various OvaHerero chiefs, traditional leaders and councillors mainly from the Aminuis-based OvaHerero Traditional Authority.

Close to 300 people, including ordinary members of the public, turned up to witness Rukoro’s ascendance to the OvaHerero top throne.

A usually stern speaker, Rukoro had to fight back his tears when delivering his acceptance speech.

He dedicated his throne to the memory of Chief Riruako, whom he said had left a void too big to be filled by ‘a mere mortal’.

“I would like to thank him for carving a path for us to follow. If it was not for him, some of us would not have been where we are today,” Rukoro said.

Choosing to reserve a more detailed speech for later, Rukoro said the time has come for OvaHerero to put all their difference behind them and move together as a united nation.

Rukoro joins a legion of historic and prolific leaders of OvaHerero as Paramount Chief, such as Riruako, Clemens Kapuuo, Hosea Kutako and Samuel Maharero.

Fanuel Tumbee Tjombe acted as chief after Riruako’s death, but he passed away on 31 July this year.

-Nampa