Outjo (

Otjiherero Herero (Otjiherero) is a Bantu language spoken by the Herero and Mbanderu peoples in Namibia and Botswana, as well as by small communities of people in southwestern Angola. There were speakers in these countries between 2015 and 2018. Distr ...

: ''small hills'') is a town of 15,000 inhabitants in the

Kunene Region Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo, its governor is Vipuakuje Muharukua. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Geography Besides the capital Opuwo, the reg ...

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 ...

. It is the district capital of

Outjo Constituency Outjo is an electoral constituency in the Kunene Region of Namibia. Its district capital is the town of Outjo, its population was 8,947 in 2004. , it has 9,197 registered voters. Politics The 2004 regional election was won by Thomas Adam Sheya ...

. It is best known as the main gateway to

Etosha National Park Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...

Overview

The town was founded by Germans under the command of Colonel Theodor von Leutwein in 1897 as a small

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

in order to explore the northern area of

German South West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

. The local historical museum ( Franke Haus Museum) details the campaign of Major Viktor Franke in

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 ...

. The "Naulila monument" commemorates the small expedition on the Portuguese fort of

Naulila Naulila is a town and commune in the municipality of Ombadja, province of Cunene, Angola. Located on the Cunene River which separates Angola and Namibia, Naulila was the scene of fighting between Portuguese Angola and German South West Afric ...

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 ...

by Major Viktor Franke in October 1914 following the massacre of a German delegation which had been sent to negotiate a treaty of non-aggression. It is one of the fastest developing towns in the Kunene Region. South of Outjo is the

Ugab River The Ugab River is an ephemeral river in north-western Namibia. Its lower section forms the border between Kunene Region and Erongo Region but its catchment area extends well into the Otjozondjupa Region. Ugab's source is near Otavi. From there t ...

, one of the major

rivers of Namibia This is a list of streams and rivers in Namibia, arranged geographically by drainage basin. Flowing into the Atlantic Ocean * Hoanib River ** Aap River ** Ganamub River ** Mudorib River ** Ombonde River *** Honib River *** Otjovasandu River * ...

. The town lies near Gamkarab Cave, known for its

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

s and

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

s and its

pietersite Pietersite is a commercial term for a variety of the mineral chalcedony. Originating from Namibia and China, where it is mined for use as a decorative stone due to its chaotic chatoyancy and brecciated structure. Ranging in colour from brownish-r ...

. The caves are on private ground and not open to the public.

Politics

Outjo is governed by a municipal council that has seven seats. Since the independence of the country, Outjo is the only small town in the Kunene Region controlled by the ruling party "SWAPO". The 2015 local authority election was won by

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 ...

which gained four seats (1,307 votes). Two seats went to the United Democratic Front (UDF, 706 votes), and the remaining seat was won by the

Democratic Turnhalle Alliance The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(DTA) with 381 votes. SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election but lost majority control over the municipal council. It obtained 872 votes and three seats. One seat each went to the

Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement is an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a history ...

(LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 501 votes), the UDF (392 votes), the

Popular Democratic Movement The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(PDM, the new name of the DTA, 307 votes), and the Monitor Action Group (MAG, 161 votes).

Administration

As of 2025, the town has not yet appointed a Chief Executive Officer following the term of Josef Urib, who was CEO for over two decades. Although the town has been searching for a new CEO since 2024, Tjipura Immanuel acted in that role for the remainder of 2024. As 2025 began, Jaco Labuschagne took over as the acting CEO.

Transport

Situated on the C38 - southwest of the Anderson Gate - Outjo is the gateway to the

Damaraland Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of South West Africa, which later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bordered roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the e ...

can be reached by travelling through Outjo on the C39 to

Khorixas Khorixas is a town with about 9,000 inhabitants in the southern part of the Kunene Region, Namibia. It was the capital of the Damaraland bantustan before Namibia's independence. It is the administrative capital of Khorixas Constituency. Most of ...

and the C40 towards

Kamanjab Kamanjab (, place of big stones) is a village with 6,012 inhabitants in the Kunene region of Namibia. It is the administrative centre of the Kamanjab Constituency. Economy and infrastructure As with most Namibian self-governed settlements, Ka ...

leads to the

Kaokoveld The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola. Setting The Kaokoveld Desert occupies a coastal strip covering , from 13° to 21°S and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Namibian savanna woodl ...

. Outjo has an airstrip about out of town that can accommodate small fixed-winged planes. Outjo is the terminus of a branch railway of the Namibian railway system, but there is no railway service .

Schools

Within the town limits of Outjo are three primary schools and two secondary schools as well as a combined private school. * Jack Francis Primary School * Maarssen Primary School * Outjo Primary School * Moria Private School * Etoshapoort Junior Secondary School * Outjo Secondary School The following schools are located in the vicinity of the town: *

Otjikondo Otjikondo is a settlement with post office, shops and hotel, in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocea ...

School Village & Primary School (about 85 kilometers northwest of the city) * St. Michael Roman-Catholic Primary School (about 70 kilometers northwest of the city)

Tourist attractions

Outjo offers some sights, but it is above all an important tourist transit and supply point. In 2006, more than 22,000 tourists were counted per month. Attractions in and around Outjo include: * Franke-Haus-Museum * Naulila monument * The Water Tower Outjo, which was originally equipped with a wooden wind turbine and used for water extraction. * Vingerklip (its mostly used

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

name) - a fingerlike rock formation created through erosion * The Ugab Terraces * The

Petrified Forest Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...

Twyfelfontein Twyfelfontein (Afrikaans: ''uncertain spring''), officially known as ǀUi-ǁAis ( Damara/Nama: ''jumping waterhole''), is a site of ancient rock engravings in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia. It consists of a spring in a valley flanked ...

* The Burnt Mountain

References

{{Authority control Cities in Namibia Populated places established in 1897 1897 establishments in German South West Africa Populated places in the Kunene Region