For the last thirty years an informal settlement on the outskirts of Okahandja has retained the name Fyf Rand Kamp - Five Rand Camp. While investigating the origin of the camp’s intriguing name, the story emerged of its beginnings in 1982, during the season of goodwill, when an act of kindness sowed the seed for the future settlement.
While residents were preparing for the festive season in Okahandja, 70km north of Windhoek, fifteen Oshiwambo-speaking construction workers completed their contract with the Department of Water Affairs (now called NamWater) at the Von Bach dam and found themselves without a place to live. They approached the owner of a nearby plot, a Mr Andries Pretorius, to request permission to stay on his land with their families. Mr Pretorius was sympathetic. Realising that it was the municipality’s responsibility to assist them, however, he accompanied them to the Okahandja municipality to ask for assistance. Their plea fell on deaf ears. The municipality informed the men that there was no space for them and that Mr Pretorius was not permitted to let them live on his land, thus beginning a protracted dispute with the municipality.
With no help from the authorities, Mr Pretorius allowed them to stay on his land temporarily. He had bought the plot with the intention of establishing feed lots, but had not yet progressed with his plan. At the beginning of the year, he approached the municipality again to request assistance for the group of workers but had no more success than the first time. He also contacted Water Affairs, and although they listened sympathetically, they were unable to offer any assistance. He allowed the men and their families to continue staying on his land. After a while, he requested R5 from each person per month to cover the costs of supplying water. It wasn’t long before people began to refer to the camp as Fyf Rand Kamp.
The word spread and more people in need of a place to stay arrived. One of the men was a Mr Martin Bernard (or Nambahu as he’s called in Oshiwambo). Mr Bernard took charge of the situation, becoming the leader and spokesperson for the camp. He laid down the law and collected the money, ensuring the camp was well-organised and efficiently run. Crime had no place in the small, peaceful camp. As more people came to stay, Mr Pretorius abandoned his original plan, resigning himself to the harmonious arrangement at Fyf Rand Kamp. He let out sections of the land and the funds received were used for clean-up operations and salaries for the workers.
The real conflict was yet to begin. Farmers in the area who were unhappy with people living on the property, began to spread the word that the camp was a breeding place for thieves and was home to “’n klomp rondlopers” (a bunch of vagrants). The citizens of Okahandja decided to take the matter to court, opposing the alleged anarchy on the outskirts of their town. They lost the case on the grounds that Mr Pretorius had approached the municipality to ask for assistance before allowing the people stay on his land.
After Namibian Independence in 1990 Fyf Rand Kamp fell under the Ministry of Housing and the residents approached the minister about the land. This finally reaped positive results and the government afforded funds to the municipality to purchase the plot. Mr Pretorius would only agree to the sale on one condition however, and that was that the people could remain on the land. He sold the plot in 2001 with the stipulation.
Although the meaning of the name of Windhoek’s sprawling township, ‘Katutura’, is known as ‘the place we don’t want to be’, we remain uncertain as to when the name was coined and the story has been lost with time. With Fyf Rand Kamp, the story is vastly different. The camp was a place where people wanted to live and the story has been recorded thanks to the information supplied by Mr Pretorius, who is now 88 years old and residing in the Cape, and Mr Bernard who was located living in the Nau/aib township in Okahandja. Mr Bernard, an activist and current employee of the municipality, was full of praise for the man who gave the people a place to live and helped them through difficult times. He fondly remembers the friendship that developed between the two on Mr Pretorius’s weekly visits.
When the farm was sold there were 2000 people living at Fyf Rand Kamp, today there are 5000. The municipality is considering changing the name and allocating a street to be named in honour of the settlement’s benefactor. Although times have changed, Fyf Rand Kamp is no longer the small camp it once was, Namibia is independent and the Rand is now the Namibian Dollar, the heart-warming act of kindness has been remembered over the decades.
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