Namibia’s refusal to condemn Russia undermines the credibility of its claims to support sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination of all nations.
Hundreds of Namibians protested against growing gender-based violence in October 2020. The Afrikaans wording on the placard says ‘We are tired’.
Hildegard Titus/AFPvia Getty Images)
The legitimacy of SWAPO, the former liberation movement that has governed since 1990, has been eroded amid growing corruption and a deepening economic crisis.
The November 2020 local and regional elections have indeed put Namibia’s political culture at a crossroads.
Namibians queue to vote. Fewer and fewer cast it for the ruling party SWAPO.
Photo by Gianluigi Guercia/ AFP) (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)
South Africa’s ANC and Namibia’s SWAPO, governing parties, enter crucial leadership elections this year, with presidents Zuma and Geingob both facing challenges.
A mural depicting populist dictators painted onto remnants of the Berlin Wall in Berlin in 2014.
Henning Melber
The legitimacy and credibility of those in power has been eroded by bad governance, patronage and the obsession to claim an exclusive agency representing the people.