15 years on a farm, now homeless by the roadside

For 15 years, Sakaria Nghede worked on a commercial farm, where he tried to build a life for himself and his family, but when a new owner took over the farm, the 50-year-old lost both his job and home.

Since April last year, Nghede and his wife have been living with their livestock in a road corridor in the Omaheke region, without shelter and far from water.

Their plight has now drawn the attention of Justice and Labour Relations Minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel, who visited Okorukambe constituency last week and described their living conditions as “inhumane” and a violation of human dignity.

The minister said Nghede’s circumstances reflected the continuing effects of apartheid and colonialism, questioning how such conditions could persist 36 years after Namibia’s independence.

“I can confirm that this is evidence that we are still living with the legacy or enduring the legacy of apartheid and a colonial system. It’s degrading, and it’s contrary to the constitutional imperatives. It violates the dignity of persons, particularly Mr Nghede, who has been living in this condition,” Immanuel said.

Nghede’s situation is not only about losing a job. It is also about losing the home he had occupied while working on the farm, leaving him and his wife with no place to go.

Immanuel said he had instructed officials to obtain Nghede’s details so that the matter could be taken up through the Labour Inspectorate and the Directorate of Legal Aid.

“When I get back to the office, we are going to see what we can actually do through both the labour inspectors as well as through the Directorate of Legal Aid so that he can be assisted,” he said.

The minister also pledged to engage his counterpart at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform to seek a lasting solution for Nghede and other Namibians who find themselves in similar circumstances.

The visit followed repeated attempts by local leaders to intervene. Omaheke governor Pijoo Nganate’s representative said they had tried several times to access the farm but were locked outside the gate.

The governor said the minister was asked to visit the roadside where Nghede and his wife have been staying in the hope that his intervention would help resolve the matter.

He said Nghede should receive justice in relation to his payments and be assisted in finding a place to settle.

Despite his circumstances, Nghede is described as an experienced farmer. He has goats and sheep with him on the roadside, while his cattle are kept at different locations.

The constituency representative said Nghede had developed his farming skills during his years on the commercial farm and deserved an opportunity to use that experience to support his family.

“A farmer like him deserves to be resettled and also deserves to be given an opportunity to really show his farming skills,” the representative said.

Immanuel said the case should become part of a wider national conversation about the treatment of farm workers, particularly those who lose their jobs and homes when ownership of commercial farms changes.

He questioned whether Namibia should continue to tolerate situations in which workers are left without shelter, while calling for stronger measures to protect their rights.

“We are not going to sit back and tolerate this kind of practice being perpetuated against the workers,” he said.

-ljason@nepc.com.na

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