Women clash over property rights

An eighty-eight-year-old disabled woman from the Ozongue settlement in the Grootfontein area approached the Windhoek High Court on an urgent basis last week, fearing that she would lose her home where she has lived for 40 years.Andeline Maurihungirire requested the court set aside an order evicting her from the house pending the outcome of a case between her and the wife of her deceased husband.The order prohibits Maurihungirire and her children from entering their residence.The pending case, scheduled for 11 August, will determine the rights to the property of the deceased man.Temporary reliefOn Friday, the High Court issued an interim order preventing Maurihungirire from being forced to leave the house. The order is valid until 8 August when the application will be heard again.Maurihungirire claims that she and her deceased husband were married in community of property and that after his death, she could assume the property rights granted to him by the communal land authority.In her statement, she states that her husband entered into a customary marriage with another woman, Etla Uazengisa, in 1998."The alleged customary marriage between the deceased man and the third respondent [Uazengisa] cannot have legal consequences," Maurihungirire argues in court papers.Property dispute According to the allegations, Uazengisa came to the house after the man&#039;s death in 2019, where Maurihungirire and her family had lived with her husband for the past 40 years.She claims that Uazengisa invited a group of people to stay there without her permission and that they later threatened her to leave the house."She [Uazengisa] has no reason to move into the main house because it is only intended for the first wife [myself]," her statement reads. Maurihungirire argues that Uazengisa and her group threatened to cause her physical harm if she refused to leave the house."Fearing for my life as a reasonable person with a disability, I approached the Grootfontein Magistrate&#039;s Court to request a protection order."Urgent actionIn March of this year, Maurihungirire obtained a protection order against Uazengisa and her group, although she claims she was only notified of it on 11 April.The respondents vacated the settlement on 16 April but returned on April 21 following a court order issued by the Grootfontein Magistrate&#039;s Court. Maurihungirire alleges that this order is invalid as it was issued in her absence."I had no choice but to approach the court to seek interim legal assistance. If I don&#039;t do it, I run the risk of being arrested by the police and evicted from my own home." - kristien@republikein.com.na

Women clash over property rights

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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Women clash over property rights

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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