Erastus Amutenya Uutoni (born 29 January 1961) 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 ...

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 ...

politician who has served in the cabinet of Namibia since March 2010 to 21 March 2025 Uutoni was born on 29 January 1961 in Omatando, near Ongwediva in Ovamboland 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. ...

(today the

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 ...

of northern Namibia). After graduating from secondary school he went into exile 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 ...

in 1979 and received military training at Lubango. In

's military wing, 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), re rose to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the First Mechanized Infantry Brigade. In 1982 Uutoni received training in photojournalism in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, and thereafter worked as a photographer for '' Namibia Today'' until 1991. After the Independence of Namibia Uutoni furthered his education abroad. He completed a certificate in political science from the Institute of Political Science in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1991 and a diploma in office Management from the College of Professional Management in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1995. In 1996 Uutoni gained university admission and completed undergraduate degrees in police science and marketing from the Polytechnic of Namibia (today 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 ...

) 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 ...

. Uutoni was elected mayor of Ongwediva in May 1998. In 2009, Uutoni was selected for the

list for the National Assembly of Namibia for the 2009 general election. He subsequently entered

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 2010 and immediately was appointed deputy Minister of Safety and Security in

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

second cabinet. In 2015 he was moved to deputise the Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration. In a cabinet reshuffle in 2018, Uutoni was promoted to minister and given the Sport, Youth, and National Service portfolio. Uutoni served in other ministerial portfolios before that. He was appointed Minister of Urban and Rural Development in March 2020 in President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

's second-term cabinet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uutoni, Erastus Amutenya 1961 births Living people Politicians from Oshana Region Ovambo people SWAPO politicians Youth ministers of Namibia Sports ministers of Namibia Urban and rural development ministers of Namibia Government ministers of Namibia Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Mayors of places in Namibia 21st-century Namibian politicians Namibia University of Science and Technology alumni Namibian expatriates in Angola Namibian expatriates in Zambia People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel