Communal land: Time to rethink custodianship?

Communal land has long occupied a unique and often misunderstood place in Namibia’s development story. It is where millions of Namibians live, farm, raise families and maintain cultural traditions. Yet it is also where questions of ownership, productivity, governance and economic opportunity frequently collide. The recent remarks by Rural and Urban Development Minister James Sankwasa, reminding traditional leaders that communal land remains state property and that chiefs are custodians rather than owners, have reignited an important national conversation that extends far beyond the coronation of VaGciriku Hompa Bartholomeus Aruvita Kayoka.

The minister’s statement was not merely a legal clarification. It served as a reminder of the delicate balance Namibia has attempted to maintain since Independence: respecting customary authority while ensuring that land administration remains subject to national law and constitutional principles.

At the centre of the debate lies a historical reality. The communal land system itself is largely a colonial creation. During German colonial rule and later under South African administration, indigenous communities were systematically confined to “native reserves” while the most productive agricultural land was reserved for white commercial farmers. The communal areas were never designed to maximise economic development for African communities. Instead, they were instruments of segregation, labour control and dispossession.

Independence did not erase that legacy. Namibia retained communal tenure, recognising both its cultural importance and the practical reality that millions depended upon it. Today, communal land remains state-owned, with occupation and customary rights administered through traditional authorities and Communal Land Boards under the Communal Land Reform Act.