2nd U-turn in Vaalgras chieftainship tussle

NATIVE WATCHDOG WRITES:

It’s quite deplorable and disheartening to witness how the chieftainship race is being distorted to suit the economic interest of certain avarice members of the traditional community.

It’s a well known fact that there are only two bloodline descendants born from the two brothers, being the Late Chief Samuel Stephanus, the father of the last sitting Chief Joël Stephanus and his Late brother Willem Stephanus.

The Acting Chief in accordance with our Customary Law ordered sometime late 2021 that these two brothers’ descendants go and converge about a suitable successor, but the side of Late Chief Samuel Stephanus refused to meet with the other group.

Notably, Chief Joël Stephanus had designated a successor in the name of Aron Hage Stephanus before his death. This decision was protested, opposed and condemned by the other group. Chief Joël Stephanus rightly said that he doesn’t see any suitable successor in his own kraal and was forced to twist the reigns to the kraal of his uncle, Late Willem Stephanus.



MEETINGS

This has caused us about eight succession meetings over the past 36 months without any success, because the meetings were just either boycotted deliberately or interrupted just to be adjourned unceremoniously.

Right from the onset there were no talks about two opposing candidates until the application of the second candidate was smuggled into the office of the Honourable Minister, through dubious ways and means.

The traditional councillor who orchestrated this exercise admitted that he did it in his own capacity and he filed an apology and this was eventually accepted at a community meeting, but the unmeasurable damage remains unchanged.



CONFUSION

All these new developments are confusing the Government.

Now, according to the Government there are apparently two candidates, because they don’t know the background of the case. In my personal view, the decision of the Late Chief Joël Stephanus should just be endorsed and implemented without wasting time.

It’s quite ludicrous that the very same Acting Chief, who was proffering solutions correctly in the beginning has recommended the second candidate.

In what context does it speak logic? Once again, it’s just a delay tactic being employed by the sitting traditional councillors to cling onto power to squander and embezzle the economic resources. Thus, I would advise that an election should be circumvented at all costs and that we should go back to the provisions of the Customary Law and endorse the wish of the Late Chief, if we have to prosper.

Any deviation from this stance might have far-fetching devastating repercussions. The smuggling in of the second application is confusing and is simultaneously causing unwarranted delays.

The Minister must rather investigate how the second application came into his office and hold his office staff responsible for collaborating with external forces to tarnish his reputation and the public trust in his office.



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