Rundu woodcarvers have approached the Windhoek High Court after the town council allegedly sidelined their application to purchase a piece of land they have been operating on for nearly 34 years.
In their application, the woodcarvers under Namibia Mbangura Woodcarvers Cooperative want the court to interdict the Rundu Town Council from going ahead with the sale and transfer of the land to Jianwen Investments Namibia CC while the suit is in court.
In court documents, Sakaria Lumbala, chairperson of the cooperative, said they have been operating on the land since 1990. He said they were given permission to occupy the land after the previous Portuguese owner known as Lopez relinquished his land rights and left Namibia.
Lopez also left behind a corrugated iron warehouse, three workshops for woodwork, and a sawmill on the property.
In 1991, with the assistance of the then- Kavango regional commissioner John Mutorwa, who now holds the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister, the woodcarvers formally took possession of the property.
The woodcarvers in May 2010 wrote to the town council, declaring their interest to buy the land for N$1.4 million. Lumbala said the town council then informed them on the steps to be taken in purchasing the land.
“It is worth pointing out that there was no deadline or time limit within which the applicant was directed to submit its application to purchase the property, and from 7 May 2010 to 3 August 2017, the applicant continued to enjoy possession and use of the property,” he said.
On 3 August 2017, the woodcarvers submitted their application, but they did not get a receipt from the town council.
“All the applicant seeks is a fair and reasonable consideration and determination of its application submitted on 3 August 2017,” submitted Lumbala.
He further explained that the property was advertised on 24 October 2023 for a public sale.
According to him, the town council never considered their 3 August 2017 application.
On 11 March 2024, the town council allegedly approved the sale of land to Jianwen Investments Namibia CC.
“I hate to say this, but given Namibia’s history and the rights that Namibians were deprived of in relation to ownership of property, it is unfair and unreasonable that a property that has been beneficial to Namibians over the years would now be sold off to an entity owned by a foreign national,” said Lumbala.
On Monday, Judge Orben Sibeya ordered the woodcarvers to serve the Rundu Town Council, the minister of Urban and Rural Development, and Jianwen Investments Namibia CC to indicate their position on the application or whether the court can go ahead and grant the order sought.
Sibeya postponed the matter to 7 May.