The !Aman Traditional Authority has announced that clan members will elect a new leader on April 20 at Bethanie Village. 

Johannes Swartz, !Aman Traditional Authority Chairperson, says the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, authorised the election to resolve a longstanding chieftaincy succession dispute. 

He explained that the minister decided on the election for a new leader after the !Aman Royal Family, within the set period of three months, had failed to resolve the succession issue. 

This follows a ministerial investigation that recommended that the !Aman Royal Family be afforded an opportunity to settle the succession dispute within three months. 

Failure to do so would cause the community to elect a leader as the last resort to resolving the matter. 

"The absence of a leader has been an issue for the entire clan; therefore, I am calling on them to get and vote for a leader they want to lead them, and I urge them to also attend meetings at which the election process will be discussed."

Swartz says the chieftaincy race will be between Johannes Frederick and Daniel Timotheus Frederick, who are both from the !Aman Royal Family. 

The !Aman clan, a sub-tribe, of the Nama people, has been without a leader since the death  of their Gaob David Frederick in 2018.