Placido Hilukilwa
THE Oukwanyama traditional community has scrapped the practice of passing the village headman’s stool through family lines, a move welcomed cautiously by members of the largest tribe of Ovawambo.
Traditionally, the position moved from one close relative to another because, having been “bought”, it was treated like family property.
The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority (OuTA), under Meekulu Martha Mwadinomho Kristian Nelumbu, has changed that. Community members now have the right to elect their own village headmen.
This was confirmed by OuTA spokesperson, senior headman Andrew Naikaku.
“In a democracy,” he said, “the people have the right to elect their own leaders.”
He pointed out that the only leadership position not open to contest is that of the monarch, which remains the prerogative of the royal clan.
Naikaku said that incumbent village leaders may still nominate their successors, but where there is a challenger, villagers must decide by ballot.
In the past, the position was acquired by paying a specified number of cattle to the traditional authority. The role was effectively lifelong, and after the headman’s death or abdication it was handed to a close relative. Villagers had no say.
Indileni Simeon, an Oshikwanyama-speaking resident of Oshakati, welcomed the “democratisation” of village leadership but feared that wealthy people with little knowledge of tradition could be elected.
Lot Nghinaunye of Eenhana said the decision was long overdue. “Many people became village headmen not because they had leadership qualities, but simply because they were relatives of the previous headman, which is not good at all,” he said.
Photo: File
