Southern Africa - Day 16

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 - Namibia

Today we travel to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. Breakfast at 7 a.m. and then we loaded our stuff into the truck and we were off at about 7.40 a.m.

Nothing much to report on the way, I fell asleep in the truck because there was nothing interesting to see outside and the weather was so hot that it was just nice for a few siestas 😁.

On the way we stopped at a small town called Outj (pronounced Ocho) to fuel up and have coffee, and we passed another small town called Otjiwarongo which is a small farming town with the main railway lines connecting with various other African countries. 

We stopped at a place called Okahandja for lunch and after lunch we had to say goodbye to Jay because his tour ends here. Since there is only the 6 of us, we’ve become really close and I’m sad to say goodbye to him, we were particularly close as we were the younger ones in the group. 

Then we finally arrived at Windhoek. In Dutch it translates as ‘wind corner’ because it is built in between mountains, like a valley. We came into the city through Independence Avenue. The main roads here are named after presidents - Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe etc. 

It is quite a small city with a population of about 460,000 people and still developing. On the way to meet our local guide for a walking tour around the city, we passed by the main railway station, the Southern African Tribunal which heard and disposed of, among others, the land issue between Zimbabwe and the British, and the State House (where the president lives). 

Then we met our local guide. Namibia used to be a country with 13 different tribes which were not united due mainly to language barriers. It was colonised by Germany from 1824 to 1950 and then by South Africa up until it achieved independence in 1990.

First we visited a German Lutheran church built in 1896. We saw a pipe organ in there which is 35 years old and comes from South Africa. Then to the Parliament building, which formerly was the first ever German government house in Namibia. Parliament consists of the upper chamber (42 representatives from the different tribes in Namibia) and the lower chamber (102 representatives from political parties). Namibia is a Republic with a President and a Prime Minister.

The colours of the Namibian flag symbolise the following: Yellow for the brightness of Namibia after the struggle of gaining independence, as well as the desert. Blue for the sky and the ocean. Green for agriculture and vegetation. Red for the blood shed when fighting for independence. White for peace and unity. 

Next, to the Independence Memorial Museum, which is currently the tallest building in Windhoek. There is a statue of Dr Sam Nujoma right in front of the building - he is the founding father and the first president of Namibia. He was President for 15 years, although now the system is a maximum of 2 terms of 5 years each. 

During colonisation, there were several uprisings against the Germans by the locals, and the German army often fought and killed the protesters. Dr Sam Nujoma, also a protester, gathered these group of protesters and placed them somewhere he thought was safe. Unfortunately the Germans found out their location and from 1904-1908 they committed genocide against the locals, mostly women and children.

Dr. Sam Nujoma then asked for help from 3 foreign leaders - Fidel Castro, Robert Mugabe and North Korea. Fidel Castro deployed doctors to Namibia to tend to those wounded in the massacre. Robert Mugabe gave financial aid. In appreciation, there are streets here in Windhoek named after Fidel Castro (❤️) and Robert Mugabe.

As for North Korea, they supplied weaponry to the locals. However in return, they wanted uranium from Namibia to develop nuclear weapons. Until recently, Namibia was supplying uranium to North Korea but due to pressure from the international community, it stopped. In 2011, the North Koreans funded and built the Independence Memorial Museum as a gift to Namibia. Just to add, China has recently bought a majority stake in the Namibian company that mines uranium. I have great concerns about this - it does not bode well.

The last sight was a monument commemorating those who fought for independence in Namibia, with a statue of a man and a woman holding each other with broken chains and hands up in the air symbolising unity, freedom and victory. I quite liked this monument. 

Behind this monument was the first building in Namibia built in 1896 by the Germans to keep their women and children safe. Now it is national museum. The next town to Windhoek is a town known as Rehoboth, and mostly coloured people live here. 

Then we were done with the city tour so back to the hotel to relax for a bit before dinner, and then off to bed!