Traditional leadership of Namibia is a governing structure in Namibia based on the ethnicity of the indigenous people of the territory. Acceptance of a traditional authority is vested in the Government of Namibia, executed by the minister of Urban and Rural Development. There are 51 recognised traditional authorities and a further 40 pending applications.[1]
Traditional authorities cover the entire Namibian territory. For a traditional authority to be recognised by government it must have a sole area of jurisdiction; although virtually all places in Namibia are inhabited by members of different clans and tribes, the area of the settlements are deemed to belong to only one traditional authority. For a traditional leader to be accepted by government, they must be appointed according to the customary law of their clan, without major disputes about their current reign.[2]
Leaders and their administrative staff are not paid by the state. Instead the traditional group's members are expected to sustain their leadership. Government did, however, give one car each to the recognised authorities, and awards allowances for fuel and administrative work. The parallel existence of traditional authorities and the Namibian government in Namibia is controversial.[1] The traditional rulers and leaders are represented through the Council of Traditional Leaders, established by Act 13 of 1997 (GG 1706) and amended by Act 31 of 2000 (GG 2462).[3]
Functions edit
Traditional leaders are entrusted with the allocation of communal land and the formulation of the traditional group's customary laws.[1]
They also take over judicial work through traditional courts, offering a way to access compensation through civil law that does not require fees or lawyers. Crime in Namibia is treated by the classical courts solely as a criminal procedure, and ends in punishment of the offender; To seek material compensation a civil case has to be opened after the criminal verdict. Traditional fines are thus, in the words of justice minister Yvonne Dausab, meant "to wipe off tears", and not to replace criminal proceedings.[4]
Typical punishments are in money or in livestock. For instance, the traditional courts of the Ovambo people in Namibia's north fine ten cows or 15,000N$ for murder, two cows or 3,000N$ for impregnating a child, and up to six cows for theft, depending on severity. The traditional court of the Oorlam people at Vaalgras in Namibia's south, where there are few communal cattle farmers, fines three goats for theft.[4]
Recognised traditional authorities edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Tjitemisa, Kuzeeko (18 November 2016). "Chiefs cost govt millions". New Era. p. 6. The list of currently recognised traditional authorities only appears in the print version.
- ^ a b c d Albertz, Ellen; Muronga, Petrus; Kooper, Lugeretzia; Ndeyanale, Eliaser; Hartmann, Adam (24 January 2024). "Namibia's rejected chiefs". The Namibian. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "Council of Traditional Leaders Act 13 of 1997 as amended by Council of Traditional Leaders Amendment Act 31 of 2000" (PDF). lac.org.na. Government of Namibia. 28 December 2000. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- ^ a b Ndeyanale, Eliaser; Vatileni, Eino (20 July 2022). "Traditional fines to be reviewed". The Namibian. p. 1.
- ^ Ndeyanale, Eliaser (31 August 2023). "Man with albinism claims to be sidelined from Ongandjera throne". The Namibian. p. 1.
- ^ Tashaya, Clemence (5 July 2011). "Mafwe prepares to celebrate their annual "Lusata" cultural festival". New Era via allafrica.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Alt URL
- ^ Dedering, Tilman (1997). Hate the old and follow the new: Khoekhoe and missionaries in early nineteenth-century Namibia. Vol. 2 (Missionsgeschichtliches Archiv ed.). Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 59–61. ISBN 978-3-515-06872-7. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ Cloete, Luqman (3 June 2019). "Govt does not contribute to Nama chief's funerals – chief Kooper". The Namibian.
- ^ Malan, Johan S (1998). Die Völker Namibias [The Tribes of Namibia] (in German). Windhoek, Göttingen: Klaus Hess. pp. 120–125.
- ^ Cloete, Luqman (2 February 2016). "ǃKhara-Khoen Nama sub-clan installs leader". The Namibian.