Former Paramountcy Secretary General and leader of one group of Ovaherer, Professor Mutjinde Katjiua

Judge Herman Oosthuizen has dismissed with cost an urgent case Professor Mutjinde Katjiua had brought to try and stop Ombara Vipuira Kapuuo from holding a meeting at Okandjira and seizing an Ovaherero Traditional Authority account.

Judge Oosthuizen says Katjiua lacks the authority to bring the application because his appointment may have been outside the Traditional Authorities Act (TAA) he sought to rely on.

He says that Katjiua could find his authority as leader by premising his appointment on the appropriate provisions of the Traditional Authorities Act.

The judge has ordered Professor Katjiua to pay the cost of three lawyers.

But the judge also used the ruling to ask Ovaherero Traditional Authority and other traditional communities to start writing up their customary laws. He says the TAA empowers traditional leaders to promote peace and the welfare of their communities, create and ensure observance of customs and customary law and assist with its being recording.

He says the time may come when courts will insist on the recording of customary law, stressing that disputes like the one between Professor Katjiua and Ombara Kapuuo will not end until customary laws are codified.