Katima on the verge of land mayhem
Katima Mulilo CEO Raphael Liswaniso has vowed to root out the “anarchy mentality” that has been brewing in the north-eastern town over the years.
Residents of Lwanyanda informal settlement watched their houses being destroyed by a bulldozer last Thursday after the Katima Mulilo town council and developer Kayuni Investments sought a court order to evict the defiant community accused of illegal land occupation.
Videos and pictures of the incident went viral, but the local authority maintains that demolishing the homes was necessary as illegal land occupation is “getting out of hand” at the town.
The CEO said council wants to bring an end to the anarchy that has prevailed over the years.
Speaking to Namibian Sun at the weekend, Liswaniso said Lwanyanda informal settlement was established on land allocated to Kayuni Investments for a housing project.
This is the second time residents of Lwanyanda are evicted from the land in question, he said, adding that those who occupied it in 2017 were also evicted. Back then, the issue was addressed when the council established the Nova area and people were allocated plots there.
He said that while the majority moved to Nova, 16 residents refused to.
The CEO accused those who remained at Lwanyanda of illegally administering the land as they started selling plots to landless people who flocked to the area, which is against the Local Authorities Act, he added.
This allegedly saw the residents who moved to Nova either selling or renting out their newly-acquired plots and moving back to Lwanyanda.
‘We will die on this land’
Liswaniso further accused opposition politicians of instigating land grabbing.
“They tell people that the only way to get land in the Swapo-led government is through settling on it illegally and then you will be granted plots.
“These people stayed defiant, saying they will die on that land. They were given 10 days and a grace period of seven days until last week Wednesday when the deputy sheriff had to fly from Windhoek to come and implement the order and on Thursday the court order was implemented as per the courts instruction,” Liswaniso said.
“So, it’s not that council did not want to provide land for the people - that is a lie. It is the politicians and fly-by-night opposition parties who are actually influencing the people that they will never get land from the Swapo-led government if they don’t grab it.
"This is what is circulating in Katima Mulilo. This has rendered the town ungovernable.”
Our mistakes
The CEO conceded that the council’s past decisions contributed to the land grabbing.
He said in 2014, people grabbed land at Lwayaha informal settlement and instead of council evicting them, they opted to enter into a memorandum of understanding which allowed the residents to settle on the land provided that they pay for the plots.
A number of political parties and activists have condemned the local authority for demolishing the homes at Lwanyanda. In response, Liswaniso described them as opportunists who are trying by all means to destabilise the Swapo-led government.
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Residents of Lwanyanda informal settlement watched their houses being destroyed by a bulldozer last Thursday after the Katima Mulilo town council and developer Kayuni Investments sought a court order to evict the defiant community accused of illegal land occupation.
Videos and pictures of the incident went viral, but the local authority maintains that demolishing the homes was necessary as illegal land occupation is “getting out of hand” at the town.
The CEO said council wants to bring an end to the anarchy that has prevailed over the years.
Speaking to Namibian Sun at the weekend, Liswaniso said Lwanyanda informal settlement was established on land allocated to Kayuni Investments for a housing project.
This is the second time residents of Lwanyanda are evicted from the land in question, he said, adding that those who occupied it in 2017 were also evicted. Back then, the issue was addressed when the council established the Nova area and people were allocated plots there.
He said that while the majority moved to Nova, 16 residents refused to.
The CEO accused those who remained at Lwanyanda of illegally administering the land as they started selling plots to landless people who flocked to the area, which is against the Local Authorities Act, he added.
This allegedly saw the residents who moved to Nova either selling or renting out their newly-acquired plots and moving back to Lwanyanda.
‘We will die on this land’
Liswaniso further accused opposition politicians of instigating land grabbing.
“They tell people that the only way to get land in the Swapo-led government is through settling on it illegally and then you will be granted plots.
“These people stayed defiant, saying they will die on that land. They were given 10 days and a grace period of seven days until last week Wednesday when the deputy sheriff had to fly from Windhoek to come and implement the order and on Thursday the court order was implemented as per the courts instruction,” Liswaniso said.
“So, it’s not that council did not want to provide land for the people - that is a lie. It is the politicians and fly-by-night opposition parties who are actually influencing the people that they will never get land from the Swapo-led government if they don’t grab it.
"This is what is circulating in Katima Mulilo. This has rendered the town ungovernable.”
Our mistakes
The CEO conceded that the council’s past decisions contributed to the land grabbing.
He said in 2014, people grabbed land at Lwayaha informal settlement and instead of council evicting them, they opted to enter into a memorandum of understanding which allowed the residents to settle on the land provided that they pay for the plots.
A number of political parties and activists have condemned the local authority for demolishing the homes at Lwanyanda. In response, Liswaniso described them as opportunists who are trying by all means to destabilise the Swapo-led government.
[email protected]
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