Moses Witbooi (c. 1808 – 22 February 1888,

Gibeon, Namibia Gibeon ( Nama: Khaxa-tsûs) is a village in Gibeon Constituency in the Hardap Region of Namibia. The village had 4,120 inhabitants in 2023. History Gibeon, originally known by the name Khaxa-tsûs, received its name from Kido Witbooi, first ...

)Klaus Dierks (2004
Witbooi, Moses
in ''Biographies f Namibian personalities''. was the second chief of the Witbooi Nama or

ǀKhowesin The ǀKhowesin (literally ''queen bees'', also: Witbooi Nama or Witbooi Orlam) are one of five clans of the Orlam people in Namibia. They originated from Pella in the Cape Colony in South Africa and migrated to South West Africa the 19th century, ...

, a ruling clan of the

Oorlam The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and ...

branch of the

Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Khoekhoe language, Nama language of the Khoe languages, Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama ...

. He was the son of

Kido Witbooi Cupido Witbooi, variations: Kido and Kiwitti Witbooi, Nama name: ǂA-ǁêib ǃGâmemab, ( – 31 December 1875) was the first Kaptein of the ǀKhowesin (Witbooi Nama), a subtribe of the Oorlam of South-West Africa, present-day Namibia. Witbooi ...

, founder of the clan. He became the de facto leader in 1870, but official chief only at his father's death on 31 December 1875. In the 1880s, he allied with Jan Jonker Afrikaner against the

Herero people The Herero () are a Bantu people, Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there ...

. Late in 1887 he was deposed by his son-in-law Paul Visser, who had him executed early the next year. His son Hendrik Witbooi soon after killed Visser and reunited the Oorlam under his rule.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witbooi, Moses 1800s births 1888 deaths Oorlam people Namibian chiefs