Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Sworn In as Namibia’s First Female President

• Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah becomes Namibia’s first female president and Africa’s second directly elected female head of state.
• She faces challenges including high unemployment, poverty, and land inequality.
• Nandi-Ndaitwah vows to focus on economic reforms, creative industries, and land redistribution.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as Namibia’s president on Friday, becoming the country’s first female head of state and only Africa’s second directly elected female leader. She takes office as Namibia grapples with high unemployment, inequality, and poverty.

At 72, Nandi-Ndaitwah won the presidency with 58% of the vote in November, extending the rule of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), which has governed since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. A veteran of the liberation struggle, she joined Swapo at just 14 years old.

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Speaking to BBC’s Africa Daily podcast, she acknowledged the pressure of breaking barriers. “If things go well, it will be seen as a good example. But if anything happens, like it can happen in any administration under men, there are those who will say: ‘Look at women!’”

A major issue she confronts is land ownership. “Land is a serious problem in this country,” she said, noting that a small minority, particularly absentee white landowners, control much of Namibia’s farmland. Government data shows white farmers own around 70% of agricultural land, despite representing just 1.8% of the population.

While she supports land reform, she reiterated commitment to the “willing-buyer, willing-seller” approach, avoiding forced sales.

Namibia, with a population of three million, remains one of the world’s most unequal nations. The World Bank reported a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015 and projects poverty at 17.2% in 2024. Unemployment has surged to 36.9%, up from 33.4% in 2018.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia must shift from exporting raw minerals to adding value domestically. She also aims to grow the creative economy and reform education to align with changing economic demands.

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Only Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been directly elected as a female president in Africa before. Tanzania’s current president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, assumed office following the death of her predecessor in 2021.

Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasized that her presidency should be evaluated by her performance, not her gender. Still, she called her election a milestone: “It’s a good thing that we, as countries, are realising that just as men can do, women can also hold the position of authority.”

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