Namibia’s First Woman President is Inaugurated

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, also known as NNN, made history in Namibia as the first woman to take the presidential office. She enters amid declining support for her party as the country’s economy struggles and the youth electorate seek change. (Flickr)

Namibia swore in its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, on the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence on March 21, per BBC. She is one of few female heads of state ever in Africa, writes the AP, and the second elected woman president in the continent.

The 72-year-old is a veteran in Namibian politics. She joined the South West Africa People’s Organization Party (SWAPO), Namibia’s forefront independence movement, at the age of 14, BBC reports. After the country achieved independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, she served in the Namibian government as a member of parliament and, most recently, served as the first female vice-president under her predecessor, Nangolo Mbumba, writes DW.

Her ascent to the presidency adds another five years to SWAPO’s rule, which has been in power since independence. The party has seen a decline in support over the last several years, per Africanews. Recent elections in southern Africa have seen voters oust incumbent parties that, like SWAPO, were liberation movements that ruled since independence. With the birth of younger voters after the peak of these parties’ popularity, the appeal of these parties continues to dwindle, according to the New York Times. Further, allegations of corruption, high unemployment, inequality, and weakened infrastructure reinforced growing opposition, reports the BBC.

SWAPO avoided the same fate incumbent liberation parties faced in the greater region. Per Reuters, Nandi-Ndaitwah received 58 percent of the vote according to the Electoral Commission of Namibia, far less than the overwhelming majorities which previous party candidates won a decade ago, states BBC. Although Reuters writes that opposition parties contested the results, citing election-day technical difficulties that extended the voting period and delayed the vote count, per the Star, Nandi-Ndaitwah dismissed these complaints, and the Supreme Court deemed the results valid.   

Despite Namibia’s electoral shifts, reports Observer24, the party celebrated their win, and the new president declared in her victory speech that Namibians chose “peace and stability,” Reuters adds.

In her inauguration speech, President Nandi-Ndaitwah listed promises focused on revitalizing the Namibian economy and restoring trust in the government. She vowed to invest in job creation, universal healthcare, renewable green infrastructure, and the education system. Additionally, she emphasized that she was anti-corruption and would work to create and maintain “high ethical standards” during her time as president, quoting a Namibian liberation leader who argued that “corruption must be treated as treason,” writes the Namibian.

Her swearing-in as the fifth president marks a historic landmark for women in Namibia. Nandi-Ndaitwah will have to tackle the country’s economic challenges and regain support—particularly among youth—for the SWAPO Party to retain power in the next election cycle.