Succession battle ends as Kanyetu takes up chief's mantle
After years of power struggles and court cases, Sofia Mundjembwe Kanyetu will be officially appointed as the head of the vaShambyu community on Saturday.
The event will be held at Kayengona village in Kavango East Region’s Rundu rural constituency.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila will be among the key dignitaries at the event.
Kanyetu’s appointment follows a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a High Court judgment, marking the end of the succession battle for the throne.
Last year, the High Court ruled that a 2019 decision by former urban and rural development minister Peya Mushelenga to approve Kanyetu’s application and designate her as the chief of the Shambyu community be put aside.
Protracted dispute
The judgment, by Judge Thomas Masuku, followed an application by Maria Ukamba Haindaka, who also had her sights set on the throne, and who approached the court to be accorded fair treatment by the state as far as the chieftainship is concerned.
The Shambyu royal houses have been at loggerheads over who will succeed late chief Angelina Matumbo Ribebe, who died on 14 June 2015.
After the death of the Kavango East Region community’s head, traditionally known as the hompa, a dispute arose between Haindaka and Kanyetu. Both are members of the royal family and can be designated as successors.
Final decision
The dust settled two weeks ago when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Kanyetu’s appeal.
The Supreme Court found that the High Court's decision was erroneous and that the law requires the head of a community to be elected by the traditional authority itself.
The government is obliged to approve and recognise these appointments, it said.
"The chiefs’ council is authorised to appoint a chief from the royal family of the community. The [High Court] should have dismissed the review application," the judgment delivered by Chief Justice Peter Shivute read.
The Supreme Court ruled that Kanyetu was appointed by the chiefs’ council in terms of the law and that the High Court wrongly found that the council had acted unlawfully by refusing an application from another candidate, Maria Ukamba Haindaka.
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The event will be held at Kayengona village in Kavango East Region’s Rundu rural constituency.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila will be among the key dignitaries at the event.
Kanyetu’s appointment follows a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a High Court judgment, marking the end of the succession battle for the throne.
Last year, the High Court ruled that a 2019 decision by former urban and rural development minister Peya Mushelenga to approve Kanyetu’s application and designate her as the chief of the Shambyu community be put aside.
Protracted dispute
The judgment, by Judge Thomas Masuku, followed an application by Maria Ukamba Haindaka, who also had her sights set on the throne, and who approached the court to be accorded fair treatment by the state as far as the chieftainship is concerned.
The Shambyu royal houses have been at loggerheads over who will succeed late chief Angelina Matumbo Ribebe, who died on 14 June 2015.
After the death of the Kavango East Region community’s head, traditionally known as the hompa, a dispute arose between Haindaka and Kanyetu. Both are members of the royal family and can be designated as successors.
Final decision
The dust settled two weeks ago when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Kanyetu’s appeal.
The Supreme Court found that the High Court's decision was erroneous and that the law requires the head of a community to be elected by the traditional authority itself.
The government is obliged to approve and recognise these appointments, it said.
"The chiefs’ council is authorised to appoint a chief from the royal family of the community. The [High Court] should have dismissed the review application," the judgment delivered by Chief Justice Peter Shivute read.
The Supreme Court ruled that Kanyetu was appointed by the chiefs’ council in terms of the law and that the High Court wrongly found that the council had acted unlawfully by refusing an application from another candidate, Maria Ukamba Haindaka.
[email protected]
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