Ondonga Traditional Council chairperson John Walenga says it is taboo for women to visit the Ondonga salt pan. The pan, situated at the Omutele constituency in the Oshikoto region, has come under scrutiny after a woman councillor from the Khomas region visited the site during an exchange programme involving Khomas and Oshikoto region councillors. A […] The post Ondonga council bans women from salt pan after visit appeared first on The Namibian .
Ondonga Traditional Council chairperson John Walenga says it is taboo for women to visit the Ondonga salt pan.
The pan, situated at the Omutele constituency in the Oshikoto region, has come under scrutiny after a woman councillor from the Khomas region visited the site during an exchange programme involving Khomas and Oshikoto region councillors.
A video clip showing the councillor holding a block of salt from the pan was subsequently shared on social media.
“It is taboo to us in Oshindonga culture for a woman to visit a salt pan. It is taboo, just like a man is not allowed to cook at a cooking area,” Walenga told The Namibian yesterday.
Walenga’s comments come after he told a traditional gathering last month that the Ondonga Traditional Authority would take action against Oshikoto regional councillors who allegedly took their Khomas counterparts to the salt pan, where they reportedly collected salt without the permission of traditional leaders.
The delegation reportedly included Samora Machel constituency councillor Lydia Kanime, Khomasdal constituency councillor Wayne Sissing, Moses Garoëb constituency councillor and chairperson of the Khomas Regional Council Stefanus Ndengu, as well as Khomas chief regional officer Clement Mafwila.
The delegation went to the salt pan as part of an exchange visit between councillors from the Khomas and Oshikoto regions.
Walenga raised the issue during a recent public gathering with headmen, questioning the authority of regional councillors to take visitors to areas under the jurisdiction of traditional leadership without prior consultation.
“Who do those councillors represent? Those councillors are the ones who took people who travelled from far, from urban areas,” Walenga said.
He questioned why the visitors were allegedly allowed to collect salt without obtaining permission from the traditional authority.
“The woman we saw on social media is not from Owambo. Khomas councillors allegedly came to visit their counterparts from Oshikoto, then the Oshikoto regional council took them to the salt pan and they ended up taking salt from the pan,” he said yesterday.
Samora Machel councillor Lydia Kanime says she does not know who Walenga is and was unable to comment on the matter.
“If Walenga wants to hear from me he must call me and I will refer him to the one responsible to comment on that matter,” she says.
Walenga said elected councillors were expected to respect the authority of the Ondonga traditional leadership.
“Councillors! No leadership within Ondonga is above that of the chief of Ondonga. It says something if a councillor can decide to ignore the tradition and take people to the salt pan,” he said.
The chairperson said the Ondonga chief had instructed the traditional authority to look into the matter and take action.
“The chief has told me that you are angry, it’s right, you are not wrong. The chief said look at it carefully. We have been given that marching order. The order of the chief will not go in vain. We will take action,” Walenga said.
The controversy has since expanded beyond the issue of whether the councillors obtained permission to visit the salt pan, with questions being raised over the alleged prohibition on women entering the area.
‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’
NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh describes the alleged practice as discriminatory and says customary practices cannot override constitutional rights.
“We at NamRights categorically reject the customary law or practice by the Ondonga Traditional Authority which puts any salt pans in the country off-limits for women,” he says.
Ya Nangoloh says if such a practice existed, it could not have legal effect in a manner that conflicts with Namibia’s Constitution, which came into force on 21 March 1990.
He says the Constitution protects equality, fundamental rights and constitutional supremacy.
He further argues that customary practices are subject to the Constitution and the Traditional Authorities Act of 2000.
Omutele constituency councillor and chairperson of the Oshikoto Regional Council Sakeus Nangula was approached for comment yesterday and last Thursday.
Nangula yesterday said he was in a meeting.
“I am currently in a meeting, I will call you back,” he said.
He has not responded by the time of going to print.
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