The residents of Thipanana Village in the Kavango East Region assert that they are not receiving any benefits from the rural electrification project.

The villagers claim that NamPower wrongly diverted the electrification project to another village. 

Thipanana villagers staged a demonstration expressing their disappointment over the diversion of the rural electrification project to the Mukwe Constituency's Kapako Diyana Village.

NamPower originally awarded the electrification project to Thipanana Village because they met the required criteria. 

They say lack of access to electricity has negatively affected their quality of life, education, and other economic opportunities.

A member of the Thipanana Village Development Committee, Sebedeuse Aindaka, accused Mukwe Constituency Councillor Damian Maghambayi of the diversion of the rural electrification project. 

"On the document that we have, it states only two villages are supposed to get that project, which was entitled for 1.2 million, but now as a community, we are devastated by what happened to the councillor. What the councillor has done."

The villagers also revealed that they had made several enquiries to both the constituency and the regional offices, but they received no explanations regarding the councillor's decisions.

They are now requesting that the project be returned to Thipanana village with detailed clarifications.

Village Development Committee, David Diyerenge "We have been voting for councillors; as they say, your vote is your right, but we have been voting. Where is our right right now? That's why we are saying if this controversy will still remain like this in the upcoming elections, we will not take part in it, because we have seen there is nothing even if we vote just the same."

A letter which the villagers presented to the NBC News shows Councillor Maghambayi initially nominating Thipanana and Rughongo villages to benefit from the project.

Maghambayi explained the events that led to the non-electrification of the entire Thipanana Village.

"What happened is that we then requested the village development committee to be part of the assessment together with the consultants. Unfortunately, the village development committee members of Thipanana refused to be part of that assessment, and it was only carried out by other village development committee members of Rughongo and Kapako that were involved. Unfortunately now this assessment only ended up at the school of Thipanana, and the other houses of Thipanana could not be catered for."

Maghambayi added that the whole area could not be covered due to financial constraints. 

He called on the residents to be patient, as they will be catered for in other electrification projects.