New Era

WINDHOEK - "Have mercy on us and allow us at least to live in Tsumkwe so that starting afresh becomes possible now that you have taken away our cattle."
This appeal has been made by a group of farmers from Gam who drove their cattle into Tsumkwe. The farmers are in Windhoek to contact various offices about their plight, including seeking legal opinion on the way forward.
The group is of the opinion that now that they have to start from zero to amass cattle, going back to Gam and the poisonous plant that in the first place forced them into Tsumkwe could be like rubbing salt into a open wound. The group has been camping at the Red Flag Commando Hall in Katutura from where it has been shuttling to and fro, to the city to seek legal opinion as well as appeal for mercy from the powers that be.
Part of their mission to the capital, they maintain is to refute allegations surrounding their move into the Tsumkwe area. One of the allegations is that by entering into Tsumkwe from Gam, they in the process destroyed the cordon fence between the two communal areas.
However, one of the farmers, Kuratanda Katjizeu, who spoke on behalf of the others, strongly refuted this saying that it was a well-known fact that the fence had been destroyed by elephants.
While admitting guilt for illegally entering the Tsumkwe area, he denied any of them cut the veterinary fence in any way or by any means. "When we are accused of cutting the fence, it is as if we took pliers and cut it while it has long been known that this fence had been destroyed by elephants," he reiterated.
The farmers further refuted the allegation that they were given a piece of land by the San authority in the area which they turned down before moving into Tsumkwe. They challenged anyone who so alleges to name the place they were offered. Katjizeu added that he had cleaned up a piece of land at Hamuso where he was intending to move when he and others were rounded up at Onguura. He said the day they were rounded up, he was gathering his animals to drive them to Hamuso. He said they do not understand the consternation by all and sundry at the presence of their animals in Tsumkwe as though the area was purely for conservation whereas it is home to a number of cattle that roam the area.
In addition, the farmers have been disturbed by the "secret" Cabinet decision to auction their cattle in Oshakati without consulting them so that if only they could be present when their cattle were being loaded onto trucks to be able to verify their numbers.
"We were told that the cattle are no longer ours but the Government's and all that is left for us to do is to get on our donkeys and to ride back to Gam."
They say they were only told this upon approaching the authorities when they heard about the news of their cattle from sources.
They confronted the authorities for disregarding them when they took the decision to auction their animals, let alone to be present when the cattle were loaded onto trucks. They say such a verification was necessary in view of the fact that for about a month or so, since their cattle were confiscated, they had been aware of their whereabouts and thus could not attest to their numbers.
It was thus necessary before they were loaded onto trucks for them to be present and verify the numbers loaded.
This, they claim, they were denied only for the authorities to try and ascertain from them the number of animals that had been transported.
"How can we know how many cattle have been transported since we haven't seen our animals since we drove them into Nyae Nyae?" Katjizeu quizzes. "They should ask the vet," he retorts.
They cannot understand who is the Namibian that is free to live wherever he/she wishes if not them. "I am informed that Namibia is free and everyone is free to live where we want. I am in Tsumkwe but I am told to remove myself and my animals back to Gam. Thus I do not know who has the freedom. Looks like it was not meant for every citizen," says Katjizeu.
Not only this but the fuss surrounding their presence in the area confuses them in view of the fact that other farmers have been grazing their animals in the area without problems. The farmers maintain that every year around September, they lose hundreds of cattle to a dreaded poisonous plant with a homestead losing up to 20 cattle a season usually between September and January.
They say they have been pleading with the authorities for about seven years now without any response.
The farmers are also accusing the Government of deliberately ignoring their plight as a way of punishing.
"The Government even looks after prisoners as convicted as they are," Katjizeu comments on the authorities' alleged refusal to give them food rations to help stave off hunger.
They also expressed concern about what they termed "Government's vengeful attitude" especially alleged utterances by the Information and Communication Technology Permanent Secretary, Mbeuta Ua Ndjarakana, claiming that when the PS addressed farmers at Gam while leading an inter-ministerial task force, he had said "their animals would be left to the wild dogs, leopards and the poison plant" to teach them a lesson.

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