Allexer Namundjembo
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has granted four state-sponsored funerals since Cabinet introduced a moratorium on official funerals earlier this year.
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology’s spokesperson, Ngaevarue Katjangua, confirmed the figures.
She also said the moratorium, which took effect on 16 June 2025, does not limit the President’s constitutional authority to confer national honours in exceptional cases.
“Since the 11th Cabinet meeting of 2025, which resolved the moratorium on the granting of official funerals, the Cabinet further noted that the decision does not infringe on the constitutional powers of the President to confer national honours on citizens,” Katjangua told Windhoek Observer recently.
She said the Nandi-Ndaitwah has since conferred a state funeral on the late retired lieutenant general Salomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala, a veteran of the liberation struggle and former chief of the defence force.
Military funerals were given to Lazarus !Guiteb, a former Robben Island prisoner, Wilbard Sakaria, also a former Robben Island prisoner and lieutenant colonel (Retired) Office Chisozu, a veteran of the liberation struggle.
Katjangua’s comments follow public debate and claims that the moratorium has been applied selectively.
Policy analyst Lazarus Kwedhi argued that the moratorium was introduced to stop the government from granting a state funeral to the late Moses Amweelo, a former Member of Parliament and Deputy Minister of Works and Transport.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer, Kwedhi said state funerals have become a political tool for the ruling Swapo Party. He argued that inconsistent application undermines government credibility.
“If the moratorium is the position of the Cabinet, why make exceptions for some people and not all? Why couldn’t they keep to their own decision?” he asked.
He also questioned why the late Amweelo, who held a ministerial role, was not considered, while retired Lieutenant General Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala, who died in August, received both a state funeral and national hero status.
“It is through state funerals that Swapo campaigns. They also benefit from tenders—funeral tenders only go to the well-connected comrades,” Kwedhi alleged.
The cabinet placed the moratorium from 16 June 2025 to 31 March 2026 to allow for a full review of the criteria and financial implications of state and official funerals.
The decision, announced by ICT minister Emma Theofelus, aimed to reassess how such honours are granted.
Theofelus said at the time that the moratorium does not affect the President’s powers under Article 32(3)(h) of the Constitution or the National Honours Act of 2012.
This means the President may still confer honours in exceptional circumstances.
Concerns over funeral spending date back to 2021, when the government overspent by about N$5 million during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, prime minister Elijah Ngurare reported that the government spent N$38.4 million on state and official funerals in the 2024/2025 financial year.
To guide the review, Cabinet approved a seven-member committee to be proposed by the prime minister in consultation with the ministries of Defence and Veterans Affairs, the Presidency and the attorney general.
The moratorium has drawn mixed reactions. Former Cabinet minister Helmut Angula had earlier called it a cost-cutting measure.
Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah supported the review, saying public funds should go to social and economic needs rather than ceremonial costs.
