Divundu (1.090 m above sea level) is a village on the south-eastern banks of the

Okavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, runni ...

in the

Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...

Region of

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 ...

, east of

Rundu Rundu is the capital and the largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River, about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted ...

. Divundu has a population of around 5,430 inhabitants and is the homestead of the local Hambukushu kings. On the opposite, north-eastern banks of the river lies Kakutji in

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 ...

, and the two settlements are linked via a nearby border post.

Economy and infrastructure

Divundu is situated on the

Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road, formerly known as the Trans-Caprivi Corridor and until 2004 the Trans-Caprivi Highway, begins in Walvis Bay. It runs through Rundu in northeastern Namibia and along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mu ...

, in Namibia designated the national road B8. It also connects south-east to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

via the C48. Divundu has a National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) office and issues the

number plate A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

DV. The Divundu Correctional Facility is one of Namibia's seven major prisons.

Tourism

Game drives to the nearby national park,

Bwabwata National Park Bwabwata National Park is a protected area in northeastern Namibia that was established in 2007 and covers . It was created by merging Namibia's Caprivi Game Park and Mahango Game Park. Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Namibia 2011. State o ...

, which is well known for the diversity of wildlife in typical riverine and swampland habitat, are popular amongst tourists. Tourists frequent the Ndhovu Safari Lodge, which offers boat cruises to the Popa Falls, as well as camping facilities and guided village tours to the local Kamutjonga village.

Politics

Divundu is governed by a village council that has five seats. Athanasius Ndjamba Maghumbo is the CEO of Divundu Village Council (DVC).

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 ...

won the 2015 local authority election and gained four seats (631 votes). The remaining seat went to the All People's Party (APP) with 68 votes. SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election, obtaining 433 votes and gaining three seats. One seat each went to the APP (100 votes) and the

Independent Patriots for Change The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) is a political party in Namibia. It was founded by Panduleni Itula in August 2020. As an independent presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Itula won the best result of a losing candidate in a ...

(IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, that gained 49 votes.

Notable people

* Raphael Dinyando (1960–2013), former Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting

References

{{reflist Populated places in Kavango East Villages in Namibia