Andrew Niikondo (born 15 January 1962) is a

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 ...

n academic. He is the pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the

Namibia University of Science and Technology 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 ...

and the chairperson of the think tank of

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 ...

Education and early life

Niikondo was born on 15 January 1962 in Onantsi near

Ondangwa Ondangwa (earlier spelling ''Ondangua'') is a town in the Oshana Region of northern Namibia, bordering the Oshikoto Region. It had a population of 30,364 people in 2023. Ondangwa was first established as a mission station of the Finnish Missi ...

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Ovambos, in South West Africa (present-day Namibia). The apartheid government stat ...

, today Namibia's

Oshana Region Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia; its capital is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa, all situated with this region, form an urban cluster with the second largest population concentration in Namibia after the c ...

. He quit school at the age of 17 in order to join the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the S ...

(PLAN). He went into

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n exile and was trained at

Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola a ...

. He became an officer of the artillery for PLAN under

Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah Lt. Gen. Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah (born 13 December 1952) is a Namibian diplomat, former military officer and currently serving as First Gentleman of Namibia since 21 March 2025. He served as the chief of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) from 24 ...

and only returned to Namibia a decade later. In 2018 Niikondo published a book, ''Are you a Person or a Ghost?'', detailing his experiences in exile. The title refers to his mother's exclamation at his return, not having heard of him in ten years. Speaking at the book launch and remarking on Niikondo's later academic career, Ndaitwah quipped that he was the only

LAN Lan or LAN may refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space * ...

commander to have groomed a doctor.

Academic career

Niikondo only continued his formal schooling after

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First ...

and obtained his

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 ...

through distance education in 1992. He was 30 at that time. He obtained a first academic degree (a National Diploma) in Public Administration in 1995 from the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, and the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the following fac ...

. He then graduated with a

B.Tech A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Unive ...

from Technikon South Africa in 1999 and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

, again in Public Administration, from the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC; ) is a Public university, public research university in Bellville, South Africa, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the Politics of South Africa, South ...

and the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

. In 2008 he obtained a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Namibia. Niikondo worked as a part-time lecturer from 2002, and joined the Polytechnic of Namibia (now the

) in 2003. After serving as head of the Public Administration department and as deputy dean of the School of Business and Management he became vice-rector of academic affairs and research in 2011. Niikondo had a difficult time as vice rector. The Polytechnic's founding rector

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 ...

repeatedly accused him of incompetence, while Niikondo opened

grievance A grievance () is a wrong or hardship suffered, real or supposed, which forms legitimate grounds of complaint. In the past, the word meant the infliction or cause of hardship. See also * Complaint system * Harm Harm is a morality, moral and ...

procedures against Tjivikua for "harassment, victimisation and discrimination". Plans to split the research portfolio from academic affairs, thereby creating a third vice-rector position, were seen as an attempt to demote Niikondo. With the institution's

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

divided on the issue, Niikondo retained his position as vice rector, and when the Polytechnic became a university he assumed office as academic deputy vice-chancellor of the institution. In May 2020 he became acting vice-chancellor, replacing Morné du Toit. He served until the end of 2020, handing over to Erold Naomab.

Political career

Niikondo is a long-term member of

and was appointed chairperson of it think tank in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niikondo, Andrew 1962 births Living people People from Oshana Region Ovambo people Members of SWAPO University of Namibia alumni University of the Western Cape alumni Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of the Namibia University of Science and Technology People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel