The Hai||om Association recently launched a lawsuit with the High Court of Namibia regarding their ancestral land claims to the Etosha National Park and the neighbouring Mangetti West Farms.
According to a statement by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), the case also aims to highlight the unlawful dispossession that the Hai||om San suffered during the two colonial periods of Namibia since 1907 and again in 1954 through discriminatory legislation.
In filed court documents, it is estimated that Etosha National Park is worth N$2.8 trillion for only the land, and the Mangetti West Farms are worth N$95 million.
According to the LAC, the lawsuit seeks the High Court’s recognition of these land and related rights, the dispossession, and equitable reparations for over a century of ‘marginalisation, dispossession, and colonial subjugation.’
The Hai||om Association claims the Namibian government has not done enough to reverse the deprivation suffered by the Hai||om communities. This claim is based on the State’s actions which potentially violate the Namibian Constitution and other related international frameworks that the government is a signatory to.
“These include the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights,” the LAC explained.
