!Oë#Gân Traditional Authority community members have been barred from entering a recent cultural festival in Okombahe, where they had hoped to express their dissatisfaction with Chief Immanuel /Gáseb inside the premises.
The group say they will submit a petition to the relevant authorities soon, after being barred from entering the festival, which took place on 30 April.
The community members had intended to demonstrate their disgruntlement with /Gáseb inside the cultural festival, which takes place annually.
Okombahe is a settlement in the Erongo Region, situated on the Omaruru River, 70km north of Karibib.
This year’s festival was to have coincided with the inauguration of a cultural village, handed over by the central government to the traditional authority.
Community members said this week that the gate to the venue where the cultural festival took place was blocked by security officers, assisted by the police, resulting in 300 protesters being locked out.
They remained outside the gates with placards complaining about /Gáseb’s “non-inclusive despotic rule from Windhoek”.
According to a statement issued by the protestors, they wanted the prevailing drought in the traditional area to be addressed before the festival took place.
They said most of the senior councillors were locked out of the festival, while only three chiefs out of eight members of the Damara Chiefs’ Council were invited to the event. Only Chief Stefanus Gariseb of the /Gowanin Traditional Authority, Chief Max Haraseb of the /Gaiodaman and Chief Juliane Gawanas of the /Khomanin were in attendance, the statement said.
“The chiefs’ council that was formed by the recognised Damara traditional authorities was once a vibrant structure with an anthem and a unity flag, but the structure has died a natural death under the chairpersonship of Chief /Gáseb,” the protestors said. “No Damara unity flag was hoisted nor was the anthem sung at the proceedings.
“We had no intention to attend or disrupt the festival. Our aim was to take the opportunity to demonstrate our resentment with Chief /Gáseb and his invited guests,” a community spokesperson said.
The spokesperson, who preferred anonymity, said the protestors have achieved what they had set out to do, adding that they will submit a formal petition to the relevant authorities “very soon”.
The protestors are accusing
/Gáseb of having resettled himself, close friends and family on a resettlement farm called Farm Daantjie, which was meant to provide more grazing to the traditional community.
CATHERINE SASMAN