The Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Dr Willem Odendaal and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung invite to the launch of the Basel Namibia Studies Series’ latest title: “Beggars on our own land…” Tsumib v Government of the Republic of Namibia and its Implications for Ancestral Land Claims in Namibia.

Speaker: Dr Willem Odendaal, author of the book

Director of Ceremony: Mrs Rakkel Andreas

ON THE BOOK
In 1954, the Hai||om people were evicted from Etosha by the South African-controlled South West African Administration. In 2015, the Hai||om filed the case of Tsumib v Government of the Republic of Namibia in the High Court of Namibia. This book unravels the historical and contemporary sociolegal complexities that led to the Tsumib case. At the core of the case lies the legal question, how can the Hai||om people approach the Namibian Courts in order to claim compensation for the loss of their ancestral lands? Odendaal goes into detail how the Tsumib case materialised under the postindependence Namibian constitutional discourse. He assesses the Namibian land reform programme and its oversight in dealing with historical land dispossessions. He inspects Hai||om “identity” and how it was used to strengthen their case. He concludes with an examination of Namibia’s outdated and restrictive legal framework, which ultimately denied the Hai||om people their constitutional right to be heard in the Namibian Court.

Venue: Namibia Scientific Society, Robert Mugabe Avenue 110, Windhoek. Parking: Love Street.

Date and time: Tuesday, 17 September 2024, 5.30pm for 6pm

RSVP: Ms Cheryl Kahambea, Tel.: +264 61 417 500, office.fesnamibia@fes.de

A book table, copies for the press and refreshments will be available.
Book Distributor: Namibia Book Market, Tel +264 61 23 6938; contact@namibiabooks.com

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