Photo: Noor Khamis/IRIN THE City of Windhoek yesterday obtained an interim High Court order for the eviction of a group of young people calling themselves 'the children of the liberation struggle' from a piece of land situated next to the Swapo Party's head office.
The people occupying two plots of land belonging to the Windhoek City Council - the properties are situated at the corner of Leonard Auala and Hans-Dietrich Genscher streets in Katutura, and are next to the Swapo head office - must immediately vacate the properties, in terms of the order granted by Acting Judge Esi Schimming-Chase.
In terms of the order, the occupants of the two pieces of land may also not unlawfully occupy any other property belonging to the City, and may be evicted from any City-owned property unlawfully occupied by them.
At this stage the order is in effect until March 29, by when the respondents in the matter should show to the court why the interim order should not be made a final order.
None of the respondents opposed the City's urgent application for an eviction order against them.
Police officers started to remove tents which had been put up by young people, who claim to be the children of veterans who had fought for the independence of Namibia, from undeveloped land next to the Swapo head office on Tuesday already. That was after the self-styled 'struggle kids' had clashed with police officers while they were trying to march to the Office of the Prime Minister to deliver a petition.
The 'struggle kids', who are demanding that Government should provide them with employment, have been gathering near the Swapo head office over the past month.
Having set up camp on erven belonging to the City of Windhoek, they have been occupying that land unlawfully "and they have shown complete disregard of the law", the chief of the Windhoek City Police, Abraham Kanime, is charging in an affidavit filed with the High Court in support of the City's urgent application for an eviction order.
Kanime alleges in his affidavit that he has seen the young people who have set up tents on the City's erven "demonstrating their arrogance towards us" and adamantly refusing to vacate the land.
According to Kanime, he first visited the 'struggle kids' at the site where they set up camp on February 2, and informed them that they were occupying the property unlawfully if they did not have the City's permission to be there, and that they should vacate the place immediately.
They did not leave. Instead, more people started to join the group already camping on the City's land, Kanime relates in his affidavit.
He says by mid-February he again informed the people that they were not authorised to occupy the land, and that they were posing a serious health risk to themselves and to other residents of Windhoek.
He says he also pointed out to them that there are no toilets or washing facilities for them at the plot where they had pitched their tents and other makeshift shelters, and that it was unhygienic for them to stay there.
A trespassing case was also opened against them at the Katutura police station, he says.
On Friday last week, he again visited the piece of land, and discovered that the situation was getting out of hand, with more people having joined those previously there, Kanime says.
He says he found the plot littered with human faeces, waste paper and litter.
In his opinion, the living conditions of the people there had become so bad that the situation had become untenable.
Kanime claims that "the occupation of the respondents has indeed caused nuisance and unacceptable inconveniences to the other residents of the City of Windhoek".
Kanime also says that in his interactions with the 'struggle kids' they mentioned to him that their aims and objectives are to represent all the children of veterans who were born in exile and whose parents have died, and that they have travelled to Windhoek to put pressure on Government to employ them. They further told him that they would not leave the City's property until they have been given employment, Kanime claims.
The City was represented by Dennis Khama, instructed by Profysen Muluti, in the urgent application.
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