The Indigenous World 2026: Namibia

Written on 22 April 2026. Posted in Namibia

The Republic of Namibia celebrated its 35^th year of independence in March 2025. The Indigenous Peoples of Namibia include the various San groups, the Ovatue, Ovahimba, Ovatjimba and, potentially, a number of other peoples including the Ovazemba, Damara, Nama, and the distinct Nama group of the Topnaars (!Aonin). Taken together, the Indigenous Peoples of Namibia represent less than 3% of the total population of the country, which was over 2.8 million as of the 2025 census. The San (Bushmen) population has commonly been estimated to be between 28,000 and 35,000 and account for between 1.05% and 1.35% of the national population, although the 2023 Census was broken down by language and gave a San population of 71,201 or 2.4% of the population. They include the Khwe, the Hai||om, the Ju|’hoansi and ‡Kao ||Aesi (southern Ju|’hoansi), the !Xun, the Naro, and the !Xóõ. Each of the San groups speaks its own language and has distinct customs, traditions, and histories. The San were mainly hunter-gatherers in the past but, today, many have diversified livelihoods. Over 80% of the San have been dispossessed of their ancestral lands and resources, and they are now some of the poorest and most marginalized peoples in the country. The Ovahimba, Ovatue (Ovatwa), and Ovazemba are largely pastoral people, formerly also relying on hunting and gathering, and residing in the semi-arid mountains and steppes of north-west Namibia (Kunene Region). Together, the pastoralists number some 30,895, or 1.08% of the total Namibian population.

The Namibian government prefers to use the term “Marginalized Communities” when referring to the San, Ovatue and Ovahimba, support for whom falls under the Division of Marginalized Communities (DMC). The Constitution of Namibia prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or tribal affiliation but does not specifically recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Namibia voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) when it was adopted in 2007 but has not ratified ILO Convention No. 169. Namibia is a signatory to several other binding international agreements that affirm the norms represented in the UNDRIP, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Namibia representatives attended the 24^th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York from 21 April-2 May 2025. A draft White Paper on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Namibia, first drafted a decade ago, remains awaiting approval by Cabinet.

This article is part of the 40^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here

Introduction

There were a number of important events affecting Indigenous and marginalized peoples in Namibia in 2025. The most important of these was the cutting off of development assistance by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This led to the cutting of over USD 70 million (approx. EUR 59 million) in aid and the termination of 420 medical and technical staff.^[1] The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services had to scramble to ensure that health programmes and clinics were able to survive.^[2] The annual state of the nation report by H.E. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah underscored the government’s concern at the financial cutbacks that had occurred.^[3] The financial cutbacks had significant impacts on marginalized communities, especially the poor.

The development assistance cutbacks also had impacts on conservation activities in Namibia in 2025. Biodiversity protection programmes had to be reduced, as did efforts involving anti-poaching and forestry protection.^[4] According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, there were challenges in the availability of water in dryland areas of the country. The drought that had affected Namibia up until early 2025 was largely remedied by heavy rains in early 2025. Nevertheless, there were losses of wildlife and domestic stock in some parts of the country due to thirst and disease.^[5] In late September 2025, a huge wildfire affected as much as two-fifths of Etosha National Park, the country’s premier national park (22,269 km²), killing some of its megafauna, including rhinos and elephants.

The Division of Disability Affairs and Marginalized Communities continued to highlight issues facing Indigenous and Marginalized Communities. The election of Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, in late 2024 led to increased female representation across government ministries, and the transfer of the Division of Marginalized Communities from the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare to the Office of the Vice-President, under Lucia Witbooi. Women’s organizations in Namibia, including the Namibian Women’s Association (NAWA), pressed for greater recognition of women’s rights, including the rights of women to land and to protection from exploitation and domestic abuse. Significant attention was paid in Namibia in 2025 to gender mainstreaming in government policies and programmes, including those related to refugees and immigrants; these were especially important given the high percentages of women making up refugee populations, as seen, for example, in the Osire Refugee Camp south of Otjiwarongo.^[6]

The Government of Namibia has yet to recognize the Khwe Traditional Authority, something that the Khwe people felt undermined their ability to resolve key land tenure and development issues. In the case of the !Kung Traditional Authority (TA) in the N/a Jaqna Conservancy, there were reactions in the conservancy to the perceived support given by the !Kung TA to outsiders who had entered the conservancy illegally, bringing with them cattle and small stock and setting up fences.

In October 2025, the Namibian Defence Force took a significant step by reserving 60 positions (4% of its 1,500-strong 2025/26 intake) specifically for San, Ovatue, and Ovatjimba youth. Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah called it “the government's effort to correct historical imbalances”. Regional governors across all 11 regions were tasked with verifying applications through traditional authorities.^[7] As the national unemployment rate of the country is significantly high and Indigenous Peoples have even fewer employment opportunities than the non-indigenous population, the military provides not only financial security for those Indigenous people selected but also gives them medical help and other support they would not receive elsewhere.

Genocide remembrance issues

In April 2025, Namibia’s Vice-President Lucia Witbooi started consultations with traditional leaders across regions where communities including the Nama and San live, in preparation for Genocide Remembrance Day. Leaders and representatives attended meetings in Keetmanshoop, Opuwo, Omaruru, and other centres.^[8]

Namibia held its first official Genocide Remembrance Day on 28 May, marking the atrocities committed during German colonial rule against the Herero and Nama peoples. This was a historic state-level commemoration meant as a step toward reconciliation.^[9]

However, some communities, including activists from the San (Bushmen), criticized this remembrance for not adequately recognizing their historical suffering. They said that the legacy of colonial cruelty toward Bushmen had often been overlooked or minimized in national commemoration narratives.^[10]

The Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) and various international partners (e.g., the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and Minority Rights Group International) continued to call on the Namibian government to uphold Indigenous rights throughout 2025, especially regarding land rights and Free, Prior and Informed Consent on development projects affecting ancestral territories.^[11]

Workshops on Indigenous knowledge

From 3-4 September 2025, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Namibia Nature Foundation, and Namibian government convened a national workshop aimed at emphasizing Indigenous and local knowledge (including from San and other communities) in national biodiversity planning. This was a notable effort to integrate Indigenous perspectives into policy. A number of notable recommendations came out of this meeting, including the importance of protecting cultural and natural heritage.

Later that same month, from 5-18 September 2025, Namibia hosted the Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge Fair at N/a'an ku sê Lodge, bringing together over 50 knowledge holders from multiple continents.^[12] Vice-President Witbooi delivered the opening address, emphasizing: “We must move from exploitation to custodianship, from exclusion to inclusion.” Participants presented a manifesto rooted in ancestral wisdom and ecological stewardship. However, the October 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Shadow Report flagged a problem that, in translated Indigenous knowledge materials “key information was sometimes missed or translated into the wrong San language” because consultation was inadequate.^[13]

Human rights and advocacy reports

The 2025 UPR shadow report highlights continued human rights challenges for the San and other Indigenous communities, noting that systemic marginalization persists and international recommendations for better legal recognition have not been fully implemented.^[14]

The October 2025 UPR Shadow Report documented discrimination in healthcare, including verbal abuse, treatment denial, and absence of San-speaking medical staff. Tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria rates remain high in Indigenous communities, worsened by poverty and isolation.

The report also documented the arrest, in May 2025, of a British tourist at Grashoek Living Museum in Tsumkwe for sexual exploitation of San children; the authorities found over 1,500 illicit photographs. No domestic legal protections exist against this exploitation and although the authorities were quick to act in this case, it is not isolated and similar issues have been raised in Ovahimba communities in Kunene.

The report also documented widespread domestic and sexual violence, compounded by lack of access to protection orders on the part of rural women because magistrate courts are only in towns and there is a lack of San-speaking police officers, causing Tsumkwe’s San community to hold a protest in July 2025 over the lack of San police officers.^[15] Harmful stereotypes portraying San girls as “good sex providers” are driving high adolescent pregnancy and HIV transmission rates.

Mother-tongue education failures

A May 2025 review by Palms for Life Namibia exposed serious gaps in San language education. After assessing 14 schools in Tsumkwe and Otjinene, researchers found that Ju/'hoansi, the only San language officially approved for instruction, is barely used in classrooms despite a 2011 curriculum mandate. Observer24 reported on 29 July that only a handful of schools in Nyae Nyae actually teach in Ju/'hoansi. Teacher shortages and lack of materials continue to undermine implementation.^[16]

The October 2025 UPR Shadow Report alleged additional barriers: some schools ban San children from speaking their mother tongue on school grounds, textbooks ignore San history, and pregnant San girls are blocked from returning to school despite a 2001 ministry policy guaranteeing their right to education.

Oil exploration and its implications in Namibia

In 2025, concerns were expressed about the activities of a Canadian oil company, Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica). The oil company was employing fracking (hydraulic fracturing) techniques in the region north of Khaudum National Park in the Kavango West Region. Local communities as far away as the south of Khaudum National Park had been told that they would have to move as a result of the company’s activities.^[17] However, no movements had occurred as of the end of 2025.

On 29 September 2025, ReconAfrica announced it had reached 4,200 metres depth at its Kavango West 1X well and hit hydrocarbon pay, with production testing planned for early 2026.^[18] The October 2025 UPR Shadow Report documented San communities' complaints about lack of proper consultation, with specific concerns about noise driving away wildlife, potential water contamination threatening the Okavango basin's one million users, and threats to local farming.

Land rights and hydropower disputes

In Kunene Region, the Baynes Hydropower Project pushed forward despite Ovahimba opposition.^[19] The Namibian reported in October that the project between Namibia and Angola was progressing even as residents warned it would destroy ancestral lands. NamPower and Governor Vipukuje Muharukua said no formal petition had been received, although resistance remained strong.

The October 2025 UPR Shadow Report detailed how San people are routinely blocked from gathering traditional foods on land now enclosed by private conservancies, and several legal cases prior to 2024 remained in court regarding San land rights.

Robert K. Hitchcock is a professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico USA This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Ben Begbie-Clench is a freelance consultant who has done extensive work on San issues in Southern Africa, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Melinda C. Kelly is a member of the Kalahari Peoples Fund (KPF) who has worked extensively in Southern Africa, including Namibia. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Maria Sapignoli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Milan in Italy. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is part of the 40^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] UNAIDS, The impact of the US funding freeze on Namibia’s civil society: A struggle for survival, 10 March 2025

^[2] Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) annual report, November 2025.

^[3] Namibia State of the Nation Report, 24 April 2025.

^[4] Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), annual report, 15 November 2025.

^[5] Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform (MOAWLR) annual report. 15 December 2025.

^[6] Namibia Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, biannual report, June 2025.

^[7] The Namibian. (2025, November 2). NDF praised for reserving 2025/26 intake slots for San, Ovatue and Ovatjimba communities. https://www.namibian.com.na/ndf-praised-for-reserving-2025-26-intake-slots-for-san-ovatue-and-ovatjimba-communities/

^[8] The Namibian. (2025, April 21). Vice president Witbooi to meet traditional leaders for Remembrance Day talks. https://www.namibian.com.na/vice-president-witbooi-to-meet-traditional-leaders-for-remembrance-day-talks/

^[9] Federico Piana, Vatican News. (2025, Mau 28). Namibia: Genocide against the Herero and Nama commemorated.

 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2025-05/namibia-genocide-against-the-herero-and-nama-commemorated.html

^[10] The Namibian. (2025, May 28). Genocide legacy fails to reflect ‘Bushmen’ history – activist. https://www.namibian.com.na/genocide-legacy-fails-to-reflect-bushmen-history-activist/

^[11] European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). (2025, September 25). Major win for Indigenous Nama people: RWE withdraws from Hyphen hydrogen project on ancestral land in Namibia. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/major-win-for-indigenous-nama-people/

^[12] Namibia University of Science and Technology. (2025, November 16). NUST brief: Ecology custodian day and the indigenous people knowledge fair 2025. https://www.nust.na/nust-brief-ecology-custodian-day-and-the-indigenous-people-knowledge-fair-2025

^[13] Indigenous Communities for Self-Determination & Land is Life. (2025, October). UPR shadow report: Namibia. https://www.landislife.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/UPR-Shadow-Report-Namibia.pdf

^[14] Indigenous Communities for Self-Determination (ICSD) and Land is Life. (2025, October 7). Joint Submission for Namibia’s 4th Cycle Universal Periodic (UPR) Review to the 52nd session of the UPR on the Situation of Indigenous People in Namibia. https://www.landislife.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/UPR-Shadow-Report-Namibia.pdf

^[15] Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (22 July 2025). Tsumkwe Protesters Demand San Representation In Police Leadership https://nbcnews.na/node/111994

^[16] Observer24. (2025, July 29). San language use in schools remains minimal. https://www.observer24.com.na/san-language-use-in-schools-remains-minimal/

^[17] Kavango West community consultation reports, 2025.

^[18] Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (29 September 2025). ReconAfrica announces results at Kavango West 1X well, onshore Namibia [Press release]. https://www.reconafrica.com/investors/news-releases/reconafrica-announces-results-at-kavango-west-1x-well-onshore-namibia

^[19] The Namibian. (12 October 2025). Baynes hydropower goes ahead despite pushback. https://www.namibian.com.na/baynes-hydropower-goes-ahead-despite-pushback/

Tags: Global governance