National News

Allexer Namundjembo For 29-year-old Thusnelde Oases from the Hai//om San community, life has been a struggle marked by poverty and limited opportunities.  Growing up as the second last born in a family of eight in Grootfontein, she often saw her parents depend on their pensions to support the household. "With my parents relying on their pensions and limited job opportunities, it was tough to get ahead," she said. "But everything changed when I was given the chance to pursue my education through the Palms For Life Fund." That opportunity became a turning point in her life. Through the fund, Thusnelde…

Renthia Kaimbi A high-level Swapo delegation led by former Namibian ambassador to China, Elia Kaiyamo and youth leader Klaivert Mwandingi attended Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s (CCM) final inland rally in Tanzania ahead of the 29 October elections. The rally, held in support of CCM’s candidate, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, showcased strong youth participation and a commitment to peace.  It also brought together several liberation movements, including South Africa’s ANC, Mozambique’s FRELIMO, Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF, and Angola’s MPLA. Kaiyamo said the event demonstrated unity and inclusivity.  “It is true, the rally was overwhelmingly dominated by eager young men and women, which is the…

For many young Namibians, national budget week can feel like a distant ritual of suits, numbers and long speeches. Yet buried inside those tables and statements are quiet decisions that shape whether you can find work after graduation, launch a small business, afford the bus to campus or access decent health care when you finally go off your parents’ medical aid (by the way, can the age for this please be 25 because wow).  The national budget is, in effect, the country’s annual values statement: it reveals what we choose to protect, where we are willing to take risks and…

Every election cycle in Namibia, the same question returns with new urgency: how do we get more young people to register, to show up and to cast informed votes? With a median age under 25 and a growing cohort of first-time voters, the stakes are obvious. Some countries have responded by lowering the voting age to 16 for certain elections. Should Namibia follow suit? The debate is not simply legal but civic, educational and cultural. This article unpacks the case for and against lowering the voting age and asks a deeper question: regardless of the threshold, what would it take…

Fifteen minutes north of Windhoek’s city limit, the beat of urban life softens into savanna. Kalahari thorn trees punctuate golden grass, kudus watch from the treeline, and the sky pulls its favourite Namibian trick—an endless, impossible blue. This is Gondwana’s Okapuka Lodge: a safari lodge that sits close enough for a spontaneous day trip, yet vast enough to remind you why people fly across oceans to be here. For young professionals juggling deadlines and dreams, Okapuka offers a rare combination: restorative nature you can access between breakfast and a 3pm Zoom call, plus a gentle nudge into a slower, more…

Hair, in Namibia as elsewhere, is never just hair. It is a language of belonging, respectability, rebellion, faith, profession, and class. For black women in particular, hair carries a freight of history: colonial gaze, missionary discipline, workplace codes, school rules, salon economies, and intimate self-storytelling. For men, hair choices from clean fades to locs to dyed twists signal tribe and taste, sometimes risk. In recent years, several high schools, employers, and even sports associations have faced public scrutiny over hair policies that felt outdated or discriminatory.  The debates were about rules on paper, but underneath they were about power: who…

STAFF WRITER The Namibia Public Private Forum is not just another dialogue forum but is the institutionalising of a partnership of purpose, a bridge between government and business, united by the shared dream of building a prosperous Namibia. This was said by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said on Thursday when she opened the  inaugural session of the Namibia Public-Private Forum and organised by Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB). “This gathering is a tangible demonstration of our collective resolve to strengthen collaboration, inclusivity and trust between the public and private sectors,” she said. The inaugural session of the Namibia Public-Private…

Justicia Shipena Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo has raised concern over teachers recording and posting videos of learners on social media during school hours without consent from parents. She said the practice violates the Child Care and Protection Act of 2015 and the constitutional rights of children to privacy and dignity.  Mbinge-Tjeundo warned that exposing learners on platforms like TikTok and Facebook puts them at risk of cyberbullying, exploitation, and permanent digital footprints that could affect their future. “Such practices not only violate the rights of children but also divert attention from the primary mandate of schools, which…

Allexer Namundjembo A Usakos resident, Melvin Areseb, is suing the Namibian Police, including the inspector general Joseph Shikongo and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, along with three police officers, for more than N$2.9 million following his alleged unlawful arrest and assault in August this year. Court documents seen by the Windhoek Observer show that Areseb is claiming N$2 million for disability, loss of amenities of life and insult to dignity.  He is also seeking N$500 000 for shock and trauma, N$300 000 for future medical expenses, and N$10 000 for destruction of property. Through his lawyer,…

Allexer Namundjembo As local authority elections draw near, new discussions about the long-delayed Omuthiya Vocational Training Centre (VTC) have caused mixed feelings among residents. This follows a post by the Omuthiya Town Council on its official Facebook page announcing that a team from the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) visited the site earmarked for the project. The council stated that construction of the centre is expected to begin soon to help reduce the strain on vocational training opportunities in the Oshikoto region.  During the visit, Omuthiya Town Council chief executive officer Petrus Shuuya noted that…