By: Annakleta Haikera
The Gciriku Traditional Authority on Saturday crowned His Royal Highness Bartholomeus Aruvita Kayoka as the new Hompa, bringing to an end a seven-year leadership dispute that followed the death of the late Hompa Kassian Shiyambi in 2019.
The succession battle, which divided the Gciriku Traditional Authority into rival factions and resulted in lengthy court proceedings, came to an end after the appointment of Kayoka by Urban and Rural Development Minister James Sankwasa.
Sankwasa said his decision was based on extensive consultations with all parties, traditional leaders, and community members, and was intended to restore peace, unity, and stability within the traditional authority.
Speaking at the coronation ceremony, Prime Minister Elijah Tjitunga Ngurare urged the newly crowned Hompa to lead efforts to revive Gciriku cultural traditions, saying culture is the foundation of the community’s identity and an important pillar of nation-building.
He encouraged the restoration of visho vya litembu, where elders guide young girls on responsibility, womanhood, and motherhood.
Ngurare also called for the revival of traditional socio-economic practices such as marudi, vitanda, vinconco, vintunga, and kurunga madiva, saying these customs have historically promoted self-reliance, cooperation, and social cohesion.
He further encouraged the Hompa to organise storytelling and traditional literature competitions featuring matimo, ngano, visheve, and matambu to preserve the Gciriku language and pass its rich cultural heritage on to younger generations.
The Prime Minister said Namibia’s strength lies in its cultural diversity and urged traditional authorities to work closely with the government in promoting peace, reconciliation, and development.
He added that the initiative supports the vision of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of building one united Namibia where every community has an equal stake in the country’s future.
Sankwasa urged the new Hompa to be guided by the Constitution and the Traditional Authorities Act in administering the affairs of the traditional authority.
He also reminded traditional leaders that communal land belongs to the State and warned against its illegal sale, stressing that chiefs and headmen are custodians entrusted with administering communal land in accordance with the law.
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa said the VaGciriku people’s journey to the Kavango River began when hunters tracked an injured elephant, an oral tradition that traces the community’s origins to Mashi along the Kwando and Zambezi rivers in present-day south-western Zambia and north-eastern Angola.
Mutorwa said the discovery of the Kavango River prompted the clan’s elders to lead the migration and eventually settle along its banks between the 18th and early 19th centuries.
In his acceptance speech, Hompa Bartholomeus Aruvita Kayoka thanked the Gciriku people for their trust and pledged to serve with humility, fairness, and respect for customary law.
He called on all members of the traditional authority to put the divisions of the past behind them and work together for peace, unity, and the development of the Gciriku community.
