Kabulabula villagers under the Masubia Traditional Authority have objected to the appointment of a new Induna, alleging that he was appointed without community consultation.

In a grievance letter dated 7 November 2025, the community expressed dissatisfaction with the traditional authority's decision to remove the elected Induna and his assistant and replace them with a candidate allegedly chosen by the Chief.

They argue that the move undermines a long-standing tradition of electing leaders.

The community also claims that the area Induna representing them at the headquarters in Bukalo had also been removed with no explanation.

Resident of Kabulabula Village, Mutinta Liyali, says, "We were told that there would be an introduction of the new induna chosen at the headquarters in Bukalo, who was never chosen by the community members of Kabulabula. The head khuta in Bukalo chose this induna to lead the community of Kabulabula. We choose the indunas, the ones we wanted to work well with, and the indunas we choose are people we do not see or have problems with."

"Starting from the beginning of when the Masubia people came into existence, we have not yet seen such a thing happen; we are seeing this for the first time," expressed another resident, Thadeus Mbeha. 

Mabuku Simasiku of Kabulabula Village states, "We are shocked by the new administrative ways, or the new traditional authority of the Masubia, an induna being chosen for us by the head khuta while we have not chosen that person. These are times where we know that there is such a thing as elections."

Representatives of the chief told the nbc news that, the lineage of the Sankasi family, which previously held the position of induna, had been stopped for some years, but the family had since visited Munintenge Gilbert Muhongo of the Masubia Traditional Authority to ask that it be restored.

Evans Mukamba is a senior induna in the Masubia Traditional Authority.

"Our chief restored the seat back to the family and told them to identify someone who would occupy it, and this is why we are here, to introduce that person, and so we are asking you as members of the community because we can see that you're not satisfied," clarified Mukamba. 

A physical altercation broke out during an attempt by representatives of the Chief's Council to introduce the new Induna to the community.

"The constitution has what we call the Traditional Authority Act, which governs all our traditional authorities in Namibia, so the act gives power to the chief to do all things, and he is the final person; his decision cannot be questioned," stressed a representative of the Masubia Chiefs Council, Jerome Mwampole.

The process was left incomplete due to the altercation.