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Allexer Namundjembo The newly appointed acting managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, has appealed for support as she assumes leadership of the troubled state-owned oil company. Namcor announced her appointment over the weekend. Speaking to the Windhoek Observer on Sunday, Hinda-Mbuenda said her success would depend on collective effort, stressing that the company’s challenges cannot be resolved in isolation. “I am grateful for the appointment. I am ready for the task, and I will need to conduct a thorough analysis to familiarise myself with the institution,” she said.  She added that engaging widely and…

Renthia Kaimbi Swapo leaders assigned to the Zambezi region will meet in Katima Mulilo this weekend to reset candidate nominations for the local authority elections.  The meeting follows the recent dissolution of the Katima Mulilo Town Council by minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa. The dissolution, announced this week, nullified the participation of former councillors on the party’s established candidate list.  Under party rules, sitting councillors who have not been recalled usually receive automatic entry onto the candidate list.  “The dissolution breaks the chain of continuity. The council no longer exists in its previous form, so the mechanism…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja   The government will begin naming and shaming fishing companies that break bycatch rules, agriculture, water and land reform minister Inge Zaamwani has warned.  She stated that the government will enforce stricter penalties, such as licence revocation, quota cuts, and vessel confiscation, against habitual offenders.  Earlier this month, the government reduced the bycatch limit from 5% to 2% and increased penalty fees from 15% to 50% in an effort to curb illegal landings and protect marine resources. However, this week the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations appealed to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to consult the industry…

Renthia Kaimbi The Henties Bay chief executive officer Elizabeth Coetzee’s one-year and nine-month suspension ended without a hearing when her employment contract expired on 31 July 2025.  She now plans to take legal action against the council. A leaked report detailed several serious allegations that led to Coetzee’s suspension in October 2023. What was meant to be a six-month investigation stretched into one year and four months, sparking ministerial intervention and public criticism. Charges served to Coetzee in December 2024 included duplicating travel claims from Henties Bay and Gobabis municipalities for N$11 725, awarding a contract to RedForce Debt Management…

Allexer Namundjebo Zambezi regional leadership says they are unaware of the directive by urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa dissolving the Katima Mulilo Town Council. Katima Mulilo Town Council chief executive officer Raphael Liswaniso said he had not received any official communication.  “As far as I am concerned, I did not receive anything. No official communication to that effect,” he told Windhoek Observer. Liswaniso explained that Sankwasa had invited councillors and staff to meetings this week, including one with the community on Thursday.  “He sent us invitations to several meetings. There is also an invitation to meet staff management,…

Renthia Kaimbi Senior officials at the National Youth Service (NYS) are accused of ignoring allegations of trainee sexual exploitation, violent assaults and shielding perpetrators from accountability, according to a whistleblowing complaint seen by the Windhoek Observer. The complaint, signed by “Disgruntled Staff Members”, states: “We are not able to remain silent anymore. Enough is enough.” At least 10 cases of inappropriate staff-trainee sexual relationships have been reported.  Some officials allegedly fathered children with trainees, forced them to have abortions, and knowingly infected them with HIV.  Staff members accuse NYS of failing to act, allowing favouritism and leaving trainees unprotected. NYS…

Renthia Kaimbi A potential conflict of interest is facing health minister  Esperance Luvindao after revelations that her brother recently sought details on the ministry’s pharmaceutical procurement plans while representing a registered government vendor. In May, Jonathan Luvindao, managing director of Atlantic Pharmaceutical, emailed the ministry requesting information on its medicine purchasing requirements.  The company is owned by his wife, Ebba Uppindi, and has been listed as a vendor with the Central Medical Stores for more than two years, before  Luvindao’s appointment as minister in March 2025. Although Atlantic Pharmaceutical has never won a contract with the ministry, Jonathan’s direct approach…

Allexer Namundjembo More than 4,000 Namibians have sued each other for defamation of character in cases linked to social media. The inspector general, Joseph Shikongo, revealed the figures during the launch of the Ethical Use of Social Media Campaign on Wednesday at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust). Between April 2022 and April 2025, the police recorded 4 835 defamation cases, many involving public figures and social media influencers.  Defamation cases have been on the rise.  One of the current cases before court involves the chief of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Martin Kambulu Pinehas, who is suing…

Renthia Kaimbi Human rights activist Phil ya Nangolo has called on President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah not to grant former Namibia Defence Force (NDF) chief Solomon ‘Jesus’ Hawala a state funeral or any official honours.  Hawala died on Monday, 11 August 2025 at the age of 89. Nangolo, who leads NamRights, said Nandi-Ndaitwah should “refrain from according ‘Jesus’ a state or any official funeral at all.”  He pointed to unresolved allegations from the liberation struggle era, saying NamRights has lodged a submission with the International Criminal Court to investigate Hawala and others over the disappearance of hundreds of Namibians during exile.  He…

Justicia Shipena  Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa confirmed that antiretroviral medicines seized six years ago are now expired.  The medicine has been stored in a Chinese container confiscated by the ACC since 2019. “We cannot dispose of that container before the case is finalised,”Noa told the Windhoek Observer  He added the matter is still with the office of the prosecutor general, awaiting a decision.  Noa confirmed it is the same container confiscated in 2019.  “It can only be that one because we only have one container in relation to medicine. That is the only case we have still…