St Barnabas was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...

, church, and school in

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

, the administrative centre of

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

. The school was situated in the

Old Location The Old Location (or as it was known then the Main Location) was an area Apartheid, segregated for Black residents of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was situated in the area between today's suburbs of Hochland Park and Pioneers Park. Histo ...

suburb. When Old Location was closed for blacks in 1968 the existing buildings and institutions, among them St Barnabas, were destroyed.

St Barnabas Anglican Mission School

The Anglican Mission St Barnabas was located in the

suburb of Windhoek, an area exclusively for black people. The primary school at St Barnabas was founded in 1923. It was, at that time, the only school in the territory of South West Africa where teachers were black. In the 1950s, the school had classes from grades 1 up to 12 (

matric Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

), and it also accommodated people that could only attend in the evenings. During the same period the Windhoek municipality and the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n colonial administration decided to forcefully move the residents of the Old Location to the north of the city to gain more land for settlement by white people. In 1968, the Old Location was officially closed and whites began to settle while the forced removal prompted the evicted people to give the new location the name ''

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''We do not settle'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed int ...

'' (). With the new designation for the suburb as an area exclusively for whites St Barnabas, and with it the school, was destroyed.

Notable alumni

A number of prominent

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

ns attended St Barnabas, among them: *

Clemens Kapuuo Clemens Kapuuo (16 March 1923 – 27 March 1978) was a Namibian politician, academic and businessman. He was the first president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now called Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), and chief of the Herero ...

(1923–1978) –

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

OvaHerero The Herero () are a 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 are also sig ...

Mburumba Kerina Mburumba Kerina (born William Eric Getzen; 6 June 1932 – 14 June 2021) was a Namibian politician and academic. He was a co-founder of SWAPO, NUDO, and FCN, and the founder of a host of smaller political parties. For independent Namibia, he w ...

– co-founder,

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

(SWAPO Party of Namibia), the

National Unity Democratic Organisation The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) is a political party in Namibia. It has been represented in the National Assembly of Namibia and in the National Council of Namibia since it split from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (now PDM ...

(NUDO), and the

Federal Convention of Namibia The Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN) was a political party based in Rehoboth, Namibia. It was created in the wake of Namibian independence in 1988 by a merger of several smaller parties and gained a seat in the Namibian Constituent Assembly. ...

(FCN) *

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma ( ; 12May 19298February 2025) was a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first president of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and t ...

– founding

president of Namibia The president of Namibia is the head of state and head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, government, acts as chair of the Cabinet of Namibia, Cabinet and is the commander-in-chie ...

; attended St Barnabas as from 1949 *

Kuaima Riruako Kuaima Isaac Riruako (24 April 1935CV at Namibian Parliament website

(1935–2014) –

; president,

(NUDO) *

Tjama Tjivikua Tjama Tjivikua (born 27 July 1958) is a Namibian academic and businessman. He was the Rector (academia), Rector of the ''Polytechnic of Namibia'' in Windhoek since its inception in 1995. When the institution was renamed into Namibia University of ...

– rector,

Polytechnic of Namibia A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

; attended St Barnabas from 1967 until the closure of the Old LocationLaudatio for the conferment of the Dr h.c. degree: Dr Tjama Tjivikua.

Notes

Literature

* Anglican schools in Africa Anglicanism in Namibia 1923 establishments in South West Africa 1968 disestablishments in South West Africa Educational institutions established in 1923 Educational institutions established in 1968 Defunct Christian schools Schools in Windhoek History of Windhoek {{Namibia-school-stub

St Barnabas Anglican Mission School

Notable alumni

See also

Notes

Literature