|Khomani land row deepens as rival settlement claims emerge
Divisions within the |Khomani community have widened following fresh claims that the traditional authority failed to honour an agreement reached in December 2025 on beneficiary selection for Farm Korassieplaatz, 140 km north-east of Windhoek.
Community activists allege that traditional authority chief Julianne Gawanas reneged on an understanding reached on 18 December 2025 to compile a list of landless |Khomani beneficiaries for settlement on the farm.
“… it is a farm fought for by the landless |Khomani people, and it is a farm given for that purpose,” activist Shaun Gariseb said.
Farm Korassieplaatz comprises approximately 8 000 hectares and was secured, according to activists, for the benefit of landless members of the community. However, Gariseb claims the land is insufficient to accommodate all applicants.
“The 8 000 hectares are not enough for all the |Khomani people. The traditional authority received 3 500 applications from people interested in being settled,” he said.
He further alleged that tensions escalated when the traditional authority began allocating land to individuals perceived to be outsiders. “We made it clear to the chief we will not allow Aawambo businesspeople to be settled there while our people do not have any place to call home,” Gariseb said. “Unfortunately, they started selling land to the highest bidder," he claimed.
According to Gariseb, a series of follow-up meetings was held with the traditional authority on 22 December 2025, 8 and 15 January.
The latter meeting, he said, was a general gathering attended by approximately 750 community members. “At that meeting, we explained that the traditional authority did not want to clarify how they chose 35 people to be settled on the farm, and most were non-|Khomani,” he alleged.
The group subsequently met with urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa, and other officials to outline their concerns and formally notified authorities of their intention to settle 50 households on the farm. “In the meantime, the traditional authority settled more people; the number is 57 now,” Gariseb claimed. “So we also brought in original beneficiaries.”
Unruly move
Earlier this week, community members gathered at Farm Korassieplaatz, where rituals were conducted before families moved onto demarcated plots. “Today, we are officially at Farm Korassieplaatz,” another organiser said.
He added that the process followed multiple engagements with both the traditional authority and government officials. “We were here about five times."
However, the situation deteriorated when police were allegedly called to the farm during the settlement process, a move community members described as heavy-handed and unnecessary. “A leader who calls the police on their own people is not fit to lead, especially when they have agreed to something in writing and now pretend they do not know about it,” Gariseb said.
Residents argue that internal disputes should have been resolved through dialogue rather than law enforcement intervention. They also claim the chief has declined invitations to attend further meetings.
The dispute is further complicated by allegations that a 2017 servitude agreement signed by the chief could pave the way for development affecting 171 households, raising fears of possible evictions and even the closure of a local school.
At the time of publication, chief Julianne Gawanas had not responded to requests for comment.
