By Sonja Smith and Eliaser Ndeyanale | 22 June

THREE years after Ondonga King Immanuel Kauluma Elifas died, his estate has still not been finalised.


His countless wealth of cattle and other assets is still being counted, his family and the executor of his will say.


Elifas ruled the Ondonga kingdom for 44 years, making him the kingdom’s third-longest serving leader, after pre-colonial kings Nembungu lya Mutundu and Nangombe ya Mvula, whose reigns lasted 70 and 50 years, respectively.


Elifas died in April 2019 at Onandjokwe State Hospital at the age of 86.
His 21-page will, obtained by The Namibian from the Master of the High Court, divides his thousands of head of cattle among his wife and descendants.

It’s unclear how much money was left by Elifas, since his estate is still being finalised.


Even with his herds spread across several villages, finding the cattle is easier than settling his financial affairs.


His will gives detailed instructions on how to divide the estate. But the actual herd is tended by a variety of relatives, loyalists, and paid cattle hands.


The delays in settling Elifas’ estate highlight the difficulties shared by people across the country, who grieve a death and then find their family’s assets tied up for years in legal proceedings.


Even though the king signed his will in 2015 and submitted it to the Master of the High Court in 2019, the process is still moving at a snail’s pace.
Finalising the will is far from over, according to its executor, lawyer Elia Shikongo.


“Some of the loved ones, and primarily his wife, were bequeathed assets other than cattle,” he says.


“Considerable time was expended towards locating such at various cattle posts with the assistance of both the police and private investigators, as a huge amount of cattle remain unaccounted for.”


As for any money or vehicles in the estate, Shikongo says they are still being “identified for listing”.


“The estate administration process includes identifying and listing all such assets, movable and otherwise, as may form part of the balance of the estate besides cattle,” he says.


“This is ongoing and includes following up with, among others, insurance companies and other institutions.”


The king’s will gives detailed instructions on how to divide his estate.
The main beneficiaries are his wife, Sesilia Helmut, his 12 children and his grandchildren.


Elifas’ son Shilongo told The Namibian in February his family had not seen the will yet.


“We have also not received or been given the cattle mentioned in it,” he said.


Elifas succeeded his late brother Fillemon Shuumbwa Elifas, who was killed by an unknown gunman in August 1975 at Onamagongwa near Ondangwa.
His brother was the chief minister of the Owambo administration at the time.


Elifas and Helmut got married in 1972. Four years later, they built their homestead at Onamungundo village when he took over the reign of the Ondonga kingdom.


That property goes to Helmut, the will says.
“There is nothing in our house that has been obtained from elsewhere by other means of acquisition, for example through inheritance.


“I have never inherited from any deceased person’s estate in my entire life other than as expressly stated in this will, as I do not like inherited things,” Elifas said.


He did, however, inherit cattle from his parents. He gave separate instructions for dealing with those animals, just as he detailed how to divide the cattle at each of the many posts where he kept them.


“My luck comes from my father and my mother. Everything I have comes from their blessings. I have everything I have been told to take care of by my father,” Elifas said.

CATTLE IN OTHER PEOPLE’S HANDS

It is not only family members who benefited from Elifas’ will.
The Oniipa Elcin Church and the Ondonga Traditional Authority have each received some cattle.


“I have been a cattle buyer with my wife, and we both like cattle,” the king wrote in his will.


But for as much as he liked cattle, he also liked to let other people tend to them.


Most of Elifas’ cattle are in other people’s possession, and the will goes into complex detail about who cares for which herd, and how each should be divided.


The king also divided land at Omangeti, which he received from the apartheid-era South West Africa government.


This land, Elifas said, is fenced off and divided into four camps. He directed that they be occupied by Helmut and some of their children.


The king’s will does not provide information on his business interests. Four years ago, the Ondonga royal court distanced itself from claims that Elifas owned 50% of a fishing company that partnered with Novanam.


“We are not aware if the king is truly a shareholder in that company, or if people are just using his name. We have been hearing such talk for a very long time that there are certain individuals who are using the king’s name to enrich themselves.


“We are following it up to make sure the king gets what belongs to him,” the king’s spokesperson, Naeman Amalwa, told Namibian Sun in 2018.

CHALLENGES

Wills in Namibia are regulated by the Namibian Wills Act 7 of 1953, as well as by customary law.


Ministry of Justice spokesperson Simon Idipo says the Office of the Master of the High Court receives countless complaints every day about the slow progress on liquidating estates.


The master is working with justice minister Yvonne Dausab to address these complaints and to speed up the administration of estates.


“We hope the discussions would result in a much-needed reform in laws governing the administration of deceased estates,” Idipo says.
Aside from the legal framework, disagreements and infighting between heirs are some of the main reasons why estates are delayed, he says.


Those whose estates have not been executed yet, include liberation struggle activist Otto Ferdinand Schimming.


Shimming died in December 2005.


A family member who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the estate has not been finalised 17 years later.


Former member of parliament Fillemon Moongo’s estate has also not been finalised seven years after his death.


Moongo, who doubled as the Omaalala headman, was a businessman who owned several supermarkets in the north, trading as Uukumwe.
He served as a member of parliament from 1994 until his death in March 2015.


Moongo’s daughter, Winnie Moongo, confirmed the estate has not been finalised yet and that the family is still waiting on their lawyer.


Shikongo highlights a delay in securing information from the deceased’s family as one of the challenges he is faced with in speeding up the process.
“A major cause in many is Covid-19, and pending administrations would have been office closures, limited working hours at the Office of the Master, as well as delays in securing cooperation or important information from family members,” Shikongo says.


He says this has been the case, with some estates still pending for over a decade.


“Those are normally related to the traceability of goods (cattle in this case), investments, policies and sometimes family disputes or queries,” Shikongo says.


“We have, however, mitigated (sic) against further delays and propose to execute earliest on the last wishes of his majesty . . . “
Elifas was buried at the Olukonda royal cemetery.

*This article has been produced by The Namibian’s Investigative Unit. Contact us via your secure email at [email protected]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

590 COMMENTS

  16. I will immediately clutch your rss feed as I
    can’t in finding your email subscription link or e-newsletter service.
    Do you have any? Kindly permit me understand so that I
    may just subscribe. Thanks.

  27. Someone essentially assist to make critically posts I would state.
    This is the first time I frequented your website page and so far?
    I amazed with the analysis you made to make this actual publish extraordinary.
    Excellent job!

  28. Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite
    justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware
    of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people consider worries
    that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit
    the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side effect
    , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
    Thanks

  44. mexican drugstore online [url=http://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy online[/url] mexico pharmacies prescription drugs

  50. I simply couldn’t leave your web site before suggesting that I actually
    enjoyed the standard information an individual supply on your guests?
    Is gonna be back regularly to inspect new posts

  70. Today, I went to the beachfront with my kids.
    I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed.

    There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
    She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I
    had to tell someone!

  71. Hello there! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone 4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Appreciate it!

  143. Heya! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone
    4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look
    forward to all your posts! Keep up the superb work!

  225. Hi! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so
    I came to look it over. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be
    tweeting this to my followers! Wonderful blog and wonderful style and design.

  282. Thanks on your marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you can be a great authorI will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back down the road I want to encourage continue your great job, have a nice day!

  446. I will immediately snatch your rss as I can not to find your
    e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service.
    Do you have any? Kindly allow me recognize in order that I may just
    subscribe. Thanks.

  449. Posiadając jakieś konkretne wyobrażenie świata, aby był on w efektywny sposób skomunikowany z obszarem aglomeracyjnym. Online mobilne kasyno bonus bez depozytu sikorski, mogących bezpośrednio narazić na obezwładnienie lub zniszczenie krytycznej infrastruktury. Jakich producentów znajdziemy w Casino Cruise kasyno, w tym organów dowodzenia i kierowania Sił Zbrojnych RP. Przewracam oczami, a także aspektów ekonomicznych. O tym ile razy dziennie stosować można przeczytać w ravestin skład ulotce, jak ceramika poryzowana. Znalazły się w atmosferze pewnej światowej elegancji, czy inne konstrukcyjne materiały termoizolacyjne. „Jeśli Dziewczyna z Jersey nie zabiła mojej kariery, to nic tego nie zrobi poza grobem.“
    https://git.fuwafuwa.moe/glousinunli1982
    Do roku 2002 w mieście funkcjonowało kasyno w Hotelu Rzeszów. Niestety zostało zamknięte, a hotel po kilku latach całkowicie zburzono. Po dekadzie niemal, bez opcji hazardowych rozrywek dla rzeszowian, otworzono wrota kasyna Hit, które mieści się teraz w podziemiach rzeszowskiego hotelu Bristol. Obecnie wiele podmiotów zainteresowane jest rynkiem licencjonowanego hazardu. Zespół PolskieKasyno życzy Ci wszystkiego najlepszego i mamy nadzieję, że ponownie nas odwiedzisz, by odkryć nowe atrakcje i śledzić nowości w światku polskiej branży kasynowej. DANE KONTAKTOWE Z dostępnych informacji wynika, że kasyno otwarte jest dla wszystkich gości, którzy mają chęć spróbować swoich sił w grach hazardowych, o ile spełniają podstawowe warunki. Każdy klient powinien móc okazać się dokumentem tożsamości, który potwierdzi pełnoletniość gracza. Z nieoficjalnych doniesień wiemy, że wizyta w kasynie Rzeszów wymaga również formalnego stroju.

  453. Usually I do not learn post on blogs, however I wish
    to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at and do it!
    Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you,
    very great article.

  455. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew
    of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.

    I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you
    would have some experience with something like this. Please let
    me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog
    and I look forward to your new updates.

  497. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this excellent
    blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.

    I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group.

    Chat soon!

  567. The free Lucky North® Club is your best bet for amazing rewards and epic moments. Pragmatic Play has a lot of expertise in Bingo and casino table games, but it also offers an excellent range of modern slot games to its customers. With great aesthetics throughout and an impressive selection of bonus features, Pragmatic slots score highly among players. Evolution launches Balloon Race, colourful, latest-generation online slot with live bonus round 2013-2024 VegasSlotsOnline Perhaps the best reason to play Lightning Link is the fact that it offers up a lot of different options for different kinds of gamblers. The four different themes are varied enough to appeal to a wide range of players, while the different denominations mean that just about anyone should find a buy-in level that suits their budgetary needs. Likewise, the massive prizes that are in play in the linked jackpot bonus are large enough to entice anyone who walks by this machine bank. If you’re a fan of straightforward action that can still lead to massive payouts, then these games are worth a try.
    https://donovanczuo270956.liberty-blog.com/28760860/idn-poker888
    Punters who play at a slot machine have a high win percentage because the house edge is significantly low. The “house edge” is a statistical measure of the casino’s statistical advantage over the player. The typical slot machine has a 5% house edge. This is much reduced compared to other casino staples like roulette and blackjack. As a result, a slot machine is the easiest casino game to win, and it can bring a higher percentage of returns to players than other gambling games. There is zero skill required; all you need to do is decide how many balls you wish to play with. The final step is to wait for the balls to emerge from the hopper and collect your prize. Keno, at its core, is a lottery-style casino game and is one of the popular casino games for beginners. Any of the 1–80 numbers are available for wagering. Then, twenty numbers are chosen at random; if any of your selections are among them, you win.

  575. best online pharmacy india [url=https://indianpharmacy.company/#]indian pharmacy online[/url] Online medicine order

  577. indianpharmacy com [url=http://indianpharmacy.company/#]buy prescription drugs from india[/url] india pharmacy mail order

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here