Reports from the conservancy yesterday said that two government trucks on Sunday began removing the cattle from the agricultural farm at Tsumkwe where they were being held, and that the farmers from Gam were protesting the move on the streets of the small town.
Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu of the Namibian Police told The Namibian that an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry was arrested for obstructing the Police when he transported in a government vehicle 13 of the Gam farmers in an attempt to block the moving of the animals.
This was after a meeting at which the Police had informed the farmers of Cabinets decision.
The civil servant is expected to appear in court today, and the government vehicle has been impounded. The charges against him are misuse of a government vehicle and contravention of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act.
RESOLUTION
Andrew Ndishishi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, yesterday confirmed to The Namibian that the animals were being taken to government quarantine camps at Kavango, Mangetti and Oshivelo, noting that Cabinet has made a decision to confiscate the livestock and dispose of them.
Asked what was meant by dispose, he said the animals would most likely be auctioned off, adding that the farmers will not be compensated.
Ndishishi also said that the animals would under no circumstances be returned to Gam, adding that they would all be taken north of the veterinary cordon fence through which the farmers moved their cattle into the conservancy, or otherwise they will compromise the countrys FMD (foot-and-mouth disease) status.
The Ministrys report to Cabinet after a fact-finding mission to the conservancy advised that any animals that are smuggled back to Gam should be destroyed on the spot.
The cordon fence is being repaired and patrols are being increased, Ndishishi said. The Police station at Tsumkwe last week confirmed that no further movement of cattle or arrests of farmers have been reported.
EX GRATIA
But while the Gam farmers cant expect to see a cent of the earnings from the auctioning of their 1 210 cattle, Government will give them a bit of a reprieve in the form of an ex gratia payment to help them settle back at Gam, says Ndishishi.
An ex gratia payment is the legal term for a payment made without the giver recognising any liability or legal obligation.
Ndishishi said the amount for the ex gratia payment has not yet been determined, and would be decided upon once the budget has been looked at.
The farmers are, however, refusing to return to Gam, despite facing the threat of a lawsuit claiming damages of more than N$600 000.
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) is working on the case, representing the Nyae-Nyae conservancy and the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (Wimsa).
The LAC was locked in consultations on Friday to discuss further steps with its clients, though it seems a court date may only be set for early next year.
The law will also follow its course for the 32 farmers who were arrested and released on bail of N$1 000 each, with the expectation that they will soon return to court for a plea hearing. One of the farmers a minor has been released in the custody of his parents.
LONG TERM
And although Government has finally cracked down on the Gam farmers with greater vigour than has been seen in the past six weeks combined, the question of the long-term land issue remains a pressing concern.
Unaani Kawani, Swanu Secretary for Mobilisation and Election, in a Swanu perspective issued last week, says although the party does not condone or support the invasion, there are causes or the push factors as we call them, and these need to be addressed to avoid future occurrences.
The party argues that the problem is greater than the invasion, stating that the root cause of the problem is the unresolved land question on which Government has been dragging its feet longer than necessary.
Among other things, the party is calling for a second land conference to explore permanent solutions for the landless, floods, alarming rates of deforestation and population pressure.
In the meantime, at least for the farmers whom Government is urging to return to Gam, Ndishishi says: Governments resettlement programme is still ongoing, and people have the right to apply to that if they wish to be resettled.