As land dispute re-emerges
Staff Reporter
THE issue of ancestral land seems to be the rake which is stepped upon recurrently, as a fresh fight has reignited over the Baumgartsbrunn-//Ganaxas farm in the Khomas region between the /Khomanin community and a German farmer on the land.
This is after the /Khomanin Traditional Authority community members lodged a complaint with the Ancestral Land Foundation of Namibia against farmer John Cuff, who they claim has orchestrated continuous violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms in relation to access, use, and inherent control of their alleged land parcel in Baumgartsbrunn-//Ganaxas.
The land dispute over Baumgartsbrunn-//Ganaxas is not a new one, as /Khomanin community members first expressed fears in April 2008 that they would be evicted when Anna Bleks, widow of their late boss and farm owner Helmut Bleks, died. It was reported at the time that the German couple took with them to the grave all proof of a verbal agreement the workers claimed they had, which apparently granted them lifelong residency on the farm.
However, on 6 June 2014, an agreement giving the community permission to remain on 300 hectares was signed between the children of the late Anna and Helmut—Michael Bleks and Matheus Bleks—the /Khomanin Traditional Authority, under the tutelage of the late Gaob Josephat Gawanab, and the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement.
Verona Kharuxas, from the /Khomanin Landless People’s Association, added that despite this agreement, Cuff is encroaching upon and clearing land designated to the /Khomanin.
“We have notified the /Khomanin Traditional Authority of your behaviour in suppressing the people. On Friday, 6 September 2024, you were once again clearing that area which belongs to the community. The constituency councillor in the past said his hands are cut off. We are also collectively going to engage the Namibian police on your conduct,” Kharuxas said.
The community further claimed that Cuff has destroyed ancestral graves in the area during his land clearing.
In an interview with Informanté, Cuff said that the /Khomanin community are squatting on the land illegally, adding that he legally acquired the farm from the Bleks family in 2009.
“I haven’t had an issue with them. The department (Roads Authority) said the fence is not in good condition. It must be fixed up. I started to open it up, as I had a grader there, so the cattle should not go onto the main road. Now they’ve got a big issue with all that stuff. It isn’t their land; it belongs to me. They had an agreement with the Bleks that four families could stay there. Then they started squatting there, and the Bleks took away the agreement, and now they have been squatting there for some time. It is not their land,” Cuff said.
He added that, according to regulations from the Roads Authority, the fence has to be 30 meters away from the middle of the road.
“I am doing the clearing according to the law. I moved the fence away from the road. The fence has been there for years, and it is broken as well. I told them to open up. I haven’t told them to leave. I told them that land was acquired by the Agriculture Ministry for the /Khomanin community and that they have to relocate. It was not my decision; it was the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, and Resettlement. I haven’t reacted to that yet. I acquired the farm in 2009 from the Bleks family. It was in a deceased estate, and they sold it. They wanted to keep 300 hectares for the four black families that worked for them. The four families allowed everyone to move in, and they took back the agreement,” Cuff said.
