Hai||om San Royal House petitions government for resettlement on ancestral lands

Hai||om Gaob Ananias Soroseb stated that the indigenous group should be resettled on their ancestral land near Otavi, which they lost after the death of their first chief, Fritz Arebeb, in 1904 during the colonial war era. Soroseb highlighted that the Hai||om, classified as San, are among the marginalized communities in southern Africa regarding education, employment, resource access, land tenure, and political representation. He appealed to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah for intervention, emphasizing the community's lack of land and recognition.

The chief also requested that Arebeb's grave at Okoruzu ||Uib Mountain be officially recognized as a national heritage site and that the Hai||om San royal traditional leadership be recognized as a traditional authority in the Otjozondjupa region. Michael |Guiseb, a Hai||om community member, mentioned that a group living on Farm Tsumore near Lake Oshikoto faces relocation, as the previous owner's daughter, who inherited the farm, no longer wants them there. Otjozondjupa regional governor John ||Khamuseb received the petition and committed to forwarding it to the President and relevant authorities.

Last month, Vice President Lucia Witbooi announced a government initiative to develop a livelihood and development plan for the Hai-//om community living in and around Etosha National