Staff Reporter
NDIYONA, October 8 – Senior Headman Festus Shikerete, of the Gciriku Traditional Authority, has reclaimed his role as the acting Chief of the Gciriku Traditional Authority. This follows a recent pronouncement by the High Court that nullified the coronation of Felix Muraghuli Mashika as Chief of the Gciriku Traditional Authority.
Following the passing of Chief Kassian Shiyambi in 2019, the Royal family of the Gciriku Traditional Authority approached Shikerete, a gazetted senior headman and a trusted associate of the late Chief, to oversee the affairs of the Gciriku Traditional Authority until a new Chief could be elected.
However, due to internal conflicts within the Royal family, a faction aspiring to seize the throne began to undermine Shikerete’s leadership. They conducted a smear campaign against him and marginalized him in all traditional matters, asserting that their faction’s leader was on the verge of becoming Chief. They even changed the bank account signatures of the Gciriku Traditional Authority without Shikerete’s knowledge and opened a new bank account.
On September 22, 2023, High Court Judge Justice Hangula invalidated the claimant’s coronation, leaving Shikerete as the only legitimate leader of the Gciriku Traditional Authority to oversee the affairs of the Vagciriku until a new Chief is coronated.
Multiple sources have alleged that this faction also misled the government, particularly the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, regarding the contact person for the Gciriku Traditional Authority in the absence of the Chief. Instead of providing Shikerete’s name, who is a gazetted Traditional leader, they falsely designated one of the late Chief’s advisors, who is not a gazetted Traditional leader, as the contact person. This was done to advance their agenda, causing confusion within the government.
“Some of us were never confused because we knew from the beginning that Timbi Nkuru Shikerete is the leader of the Gciriku Traditional Authority until we coronate a new Chief,” commented one headman.
Meanwhile, a community demonstration is planned for October 20, 2023, to denounce those who have seized control of the Gciriku Traditional Authority by force and to express support for Shikerete’s leadership. There are also allegations that the same group is allocating land to non-community members in exchange for donations. Shikerete could not be reached for comment as his cell phone remained unanswered prior to publication.
– Namibia Daily News
