National News

Justicia Shipena  The office of the President paid for the accommodation and meals of a non-government employee during a September 2023 trip to Paris.  This was one of several irregular expenses flagged in the latest audit report by Auditor General Junias Kandjeke for the financial year ending 31 March 2024.  Kandjeke’s office also detected what appears to be a double payment of nearly N$1 million linked to the same trip.  The report  does not mention who was on the trip and for which purpose.  However, during that period, the late president Hage Geingob made a technical stopover in Paris between…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja  The ministry of health and social services says it will introduce track-and-trace barcoding to monitor medicines from central storage to patients.  This will be carried out under one secure facility, with long-term pharmaceutical contracts finalised through the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) after legal disputes delayed the process for four years. This comes as the ministry on Monday admitted that drug stock-outs continue despite an N$1.8 billion budget for pharmaceuticals and clinical supplies in the 2025/26 financial year.  “We are now moving away from a reactive approach to a proactive one, where we anticipate demand and secure…

Renthia Kaimbi Chief Sakarias Seibeb of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority has rejected a proposal to reintroduce lions and other large carnivores into the Sorris Sorris Conservancy.  He cited prevous livestock losses and the lack of compensation for affected farmers. The proposal was discussed by the Sorris Sorris Conservancy Management Committee and linked to the Lion Rangers Programme, which works with communities on the conservation of desert-adapted lions in northwest Namibia. Seibeb confirmed the request but said the community would not accept it.  “Our people suffered the loss of their livestock, donkeys and even pet dogs to lions in the…

Allexer Namundjembo Fishrot accused and former justice minister Sacky Shanghala says vehicles used to transport inmates are unsafe.  He told the Windhoek High Court on Monday that the Namibian Police’s handling of prisoner transport is a serious safety risk.  Shanghala  compared the conditions to being locked in a “metal cage” and said he would rather not become another statistic, referring to the Mariental crash that killed 12 correctional officers, two police officers, and two civilians.  The collision happened just after 07h00 on the B1 road, about seven kilometres north of Mariental. Shanghala also told High Court judge Marilize du Plessis…

Renthia Kaimbi There is no official agreement that has been signed between Namibia and Zambia on passport-free travel, the ministry of home affairs, immigration, safety and security has said.  The ministry's executive director, Nghidinua Daniel, told the Windhoek Observer that reports claiming the arrangement is in place are premature.  “The use of national ID documents as travel documents between Namibia and Zambia is not yet operational, although discussions are underway,” he said. The plan would allow citizens to cross borders using only national identity cards, but it remains under discussion with no implementation timeline.  The speculation stemmed from remarks made…

Renthia Kaimbi South African MP Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala has been branded an anti-Semite in Germany after questioning the country’s stance on reparations for the Namibian genocide. The incident followed her keynote address in January 2025 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) museum in Berlin, where she was invited in her capacity (before becoming an MP in June 2025) as a Decoloniality and African Spirituality scholar to speak on “Rematriation as Reparation in Afrikan Spirituality”. Litchfield-Tshabalala told the Windhoek Observer that her lecture began with themes of justice and balance in Nguni culture. “When they invited me, we agreed that…

Justicia Shipena The Namibian government is sitting on billions in unpaid loans from municipalities, towns, villages, and public enterprises.  An auditor general’s latest report shows that local authorities and state entities continue to default on loans, deepening the country’s financial strain.  By March 2024, municipalities alone owed the government N$34.3 million in loan capital and a staggering N$46.3 million in interest arrears.  Tsumeb municipality  had the highest debt, with N$10 million in unpaid capital and N$29.8 million in arrears. Mariental followed with N$3.5 million in capital and N$2.7 million in arrears.  Keetmanshoop owed N$2.5 million in capital and N$2.1 million…

Renthia Kaimbi The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has recalled its councillor for the Walvis Bay Rural constituency, Florian Donatus.  Donatus, who has been serving as council chairperson, was directed to step down through a letter dated 5 September 2025.  The letter ordered him to “immediately cease representing and acting in any capacity on behalf of the IPC on the Erongo Regional Council” and announced a formal investigation into allegations of mismanagement and maladministration of council resources. Allegations surfaced in July that during his four-month tenure as chairperson, unidentified people used the council’s credit facility at a Swakopmund supermarket to…

Allexer Namundjembo The late former Namibia Defence Force (NDF) chief Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala wanted to be buried next to his parents. His wish was fulfilled when he was laid to rest in his home village in the Oshana Region this weekend. Hawala was born on 17 August 1935 and died on 11 August 2025 in a local hospital at the age of 89. He was buried in Ongwediva on Saturday. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the government respected his request. “It was his expressed wish that his remains should be buried here, where his parents were laid to rest. As we…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja  The auditor general, Junias Kandjeke, has reported that the Tsandi Village Council breached the Public Procurement Act when it paid a consulting engineer more than N$1.49 million for services on a project initially awarded at N$326 176. In the report of the auditor general on the accounts of Tsandi Village Council for the financial years ended 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022, the payments were found to have exceeded the 15% adjustment limit set by the Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2022. “On 09 July 2019, Tsandi Village Council awarded a contract with the cost value of…