A land dispute in Katutura has brought construction to a halt after 80-year-old Sophia |Uises and Matti Shimwino clashed over land in front of Uises's home.

 |Uises claims she was denied the opportunity to buy the land by the City of Windhoek, which later allocated it to Shimwino.

Community members claim criminal activities increased after a bar was previously opened on the same land, which is also used by learners on their way to school. 

They say this is why they are opposing plans to construct another bar at the site, as they fear for their children's safety and are calling on the City of Windhoek to intervene.

88-year-old |Uises said she previously applied to the City of Windhoek for Erf 9909 to extend her home but was told it was not an ERF and her application was denied.

"But now I don't know; I'm failing to understand. We apply; we are denied. How come that he's been approved? And in this house the entrance is just from here where you are standing. If somebody is going to build, where am I going to exit?"

Shimwino says he has been paying the City of Windhoek for the land and was due to start construction on Tuesday, but community members stopped him and called the police to intervene.

"Then I decided to build my house, which is now what I come to do right now. And today once we are sitting here, yesterday we were sitting here, but seeing where we started, so then we find the owner of this container, telling us that they were talking to a municipality to hold."

He maintains that he intends to build a home, not a business. 

Katutura councillor Richard !Gaoseb says the dispute may have racial undertones, while questions remain over how the land was allocted.

"This thing is very serious. And these little things are trying to divide the nation. It looks very small, but land is a serious issue, and it is dividing the nation. It's become a tribal issue, and we don't want a country over a population of three million to be at land known by people of tribal issues. That's why I'm begging the City of Windhoek to come on board."

He says that the issue is quite serious and needs the City of Windhoek to look into the matter at hand.

NBC News reached out to City of Windhoek Communications Manager Harold Akwenye, who said the municipality would need proof of documentation showing that the claimant purchased the said erf.

The City of Windhoek says a bar cannot be built on land zoned for residential use without municipal approval. 

Property owners seeking to operate a bar must apply for rezoning or a change of land use or obtain special consent where applicable under the city's town planning scheme.