National News

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources has recommended that the government officials learn from Tanzania’s approach to managing human-wildlife conflict.  This recommendation follows a benchmark visit by members of parliament to Tanzania last year to study strategies and policies there. The committee’s report highlights that Tanzania commonly relocates problem animals, such as elephants and crocodiles, to areas far away from human habitats.  Crocodiles are moved to rivers less frequented by people, while elephants are deterred from entering human habitat by the use of chilli bombs. Tanzania has also built crocodile enclosures in areas where humans and animals…

Allexer Namundjebo President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will be sworn in as the country’s first female president on 21 March. This historic event follows the Supreme Court's dismissal of the legal challenge against the 2024 presidential election by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) on Friday. The two parties jointly challenge the presidential election results in December 2024.  They argued that the extension of the voting period beyond the initial election date had rendered the polls unlawful. Chief Justice Peter Shivute delivered the unanimous decision by a bench of justices of the Supreme Court that the…

Julia Heita  As the nation laid to rest its Founding President and Father of the Nation, Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, his widow, Madame Kovambo Nujoma, stood at the heart of the nation’s mourning. In a message read on her behalf by Nashilongo Shivute, Kovambo shared a deeply personal tribute to the man she loved, the leader she stood beside, and the father of their children. “He would come home, greet me first, and hold my hand, his voice full of affection as he asked, ‘Meekulu ouli nawa?’ And I would respond, ‘Iii Presidente, turi naua. Ove ua kotoka naua,” she…

Niël Terblanché Namibia’s fishing industry is again under siege by foreign-flagged fishing vessels from China and Angola that are mercilessly pillaging the country’s northern waters. Several persons, who witnessed the flagrant acts of piracy last week and who wished to remain anonymous, said these fishing trawlers are plundering irreplaceable fish stocks in critical breeding and spawning zones immediately south of the Kunene River mouth. “For at least a month, these criminal vessels have operated openly, dragging the seabed with massive, weighted dragnets that obliterate everything in their path,” one witness who visits the area regularly said. According to the witness,…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja A political analyst has expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in combating corruption. Ndumba Kamwanyah made these remarks following the arrest of six public officials, including three senior police officers, a school administrator, a former school principal, and a government handyman, over the past two months in connection with corruption charges.  Kamwanyah believes these arrests highlight the persistent problem of corruption in the public sector. “While it’s good to see action being taken, the real question is whether these arrests will lead to convictions and real consequences, or if they will just be for…

Niël Terblanché The municipality of Walvis Bay has apologised to its former chief executive officer, Muronga Haingura, bringing an end to a N$1.5 million civil lawsuit he had lodged against the local authority over allegations linking him to financial mismanagement. Haingura, who was accused of involvement in a scandal surrounding the Mass Land Servicing Project, agreed to withdraw his case at the Windhoek High Court last Tuesday, on condition that the municipality formally issue a formal public apology clearing his name. The allegations, which emerged in 2020, suggest that N$24 million from the housing scheme was either missing or misappropriated.…

Ester Mbathera  An official from the policy, planning, and economic department in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court on Monday for allegedly defrauding a company named Razorbill Investment (PTY) of N$29.9 million. Cecilia Nakale (52) appeared alongside Victoria George (34), Abisai Ndeuyema (34), and Elizabeth Shikongo (30) before Magistrate Vicky Nicolaides.  A fifth suspect in the matter appeared in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court. Nakale works in the directorate responsible for managing fishing rights, allocating fishing quotas, issuing vessel licenses, and in coordinating the overall planning for the ministry.  Questions sent to the…

Niël Terblanché Residents of Windhoek will have to look for alternative routes to avoid getting stuck in traffic during the street procession of official vehicles while the memorial and funeral services for Founding President Sam Nujoma, Friday and Saturday, are in progress. In this regard, the Namibian Police (NamPol) issued a public notice on Thursday detailing road closures and designated parking areas ahead of the memorial and funeral proceedings for Nujoma. Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, head of NamPol’s Public Relations Division, confirmed that temporary road closures and traffic diversions will be in place from Thursday to Saturday to ensure a…

Free public transport will be available in Windhoek for people who want to attend the memorial and burial services of the late Founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma. The memorial service will be held at Independence Stadium, with gates opening at 07h30. Public transport will commence from 05h00, with municipal buses ferrying attendees from various pick-up points across the city. The Funeral at Heroes Acre will take place on Saturday and members of the public can again make use of the same pick-up points where buses will collect them from 05h00. The pick-up points will be located at the following venues:…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja  The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has been directed to conduct a forensic audit of the operations and financial affairs of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) following allegations of financial mismanagement and non-compliance with labour laws. According to a parliamentary report seen by the Windhoek Observer, the audit will specifically examine the N$5.4 million in performance bonuses paid to NBC executives and the N$1.9 million spent on a vehicle for the director general. “The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and NBC were reluctant to find a lasting and amicable solution to the strike. NBC Management paid…