Staff Reporter
COMMUNITY members from //Ganaxas “Baumgartsbrun”, located some 35 kilometres west of Windhoek, have announced that they will be demonstrating on 4 November 2024 as they face eviction from the farm.
Verona Kharuxas, Chairperson of the Landless /Khomanin People, said that the community would march to the Ministry of Lands and register their discontent with the minister as to why he gives waivers to farmers to sell land like sweets while there is a community they found and are in conflict with.
This was revealed in a meeting the community had on 10 October 2024, in which they expressed their discontent with farmer John Cuff, who is asking the community to leave the //Ganaxas farm.
“On 6th September 2024, when a certain John Cuff started clearing land and suppressing the community into a smaller area on the supposedly 300 hectares of land, which came as an agreement in 2014, I, Verona Kharuxas of the Landless /Khomanin People, intervened and stopped him from continuing,” Kharuxas said.
She added that on 14th September 2024, after the community’s complaints and those of the Ancestral Land Foundations, the farmer, John Cuff, agreed to a meeting on 8th October 2024 with all stakeholders. The objective of that meeting was clear and aimed at finding a lasting solution for the /Khomanin community.
“John Cuff was to make an undertaking to avail land to the community for the government to purchase at a fair price. However, in the time leading up to that meeting, Chief Juliene Gawanas had met with Social Justice Activist Shaun Gariseb and me. She blatantly refused to provide the 2014 agreement, although she admitted to being in possession of it. She gave the impression that she supported the meeting and would attend. We were regrettably going to learn that she was busy sabotaging the meeting and never had any intention to attend. On 7th October 2024, John Cuff told us that Chief Juliene Gawanas had told him not to honour the meeting and to meet him secretly on 8th October 2024, something the Chief denied. However, she went ahead and met with John Cuff, where he informed her that he was the owner of all the land, having bought it from the Bleks Foundation, and that he would evict everyone on the farm except two former workers, who were part of the agreement. John Cuff said he is waiting for the two to pass away but, in the meantime, could offer them 200 hectares, while he would personally send the rest to those farms availed by Calle Schlettwein,” Kharuxas said.
Efforts to get a hold of /Khomanin Gaos, Gawanas, were unsuccessful, while the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, said he is yet to determine the facts of the matter.
