''The Namibian'' is the largest daily newspaper in

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 published in English and Oshiwambo.

History

The newspaper was established in 1985 by journalist Gwen Lister as a weekly newspaper reliant on support of donors, which aimed to promote Namibian independence from

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 ...

. Its first edition appeared on 30 August of that year with a print run of 10,000. ''The Namibian'' became a daily newspaper on 1 April 1989. It is owned by the private trust Free Press of Namibia, managed by its founding editor. On the 15th anniversary of its foundation,

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

praised the newspaper: "''The Namibian'' worked courageously in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Since then, it has contributed immeasurably to press freedom and nation-building in Namibia. Throughout, it has maintained its integrity and independent stance."

Relations to government

Prior to Namibian independence

The newspaper exposed human rights violations by South Africa's occupying forces and was thus perceived as overly critical and pro- SWAPO by the South African government. Even the name of the newspaper irritated the South African administration as they preferred the land to be called

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. ...

, whereas ''Namibia'' was a notion closely related to the independence movement. There were several incidents of violence against ''The Namibian'' offices, leased from anti-apartheid activist and architect Kerry McNamara, in the months after its foundation. Shooting at the building necessitated the installation of bullet-proof glass, and there were several firebombing and teargassing attacks. The newspaper offices were attacked by the

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

''Wit Wolwe'' () vigilante group in October 1988. The newspaper's offices were almost burned down.Laudatory submission for Hero of World Press Freedom Award
Gwen Lister
South Africa's Civil Cooperation Bureau planned to poison editor Lister, the newspaper was boycotted by the white business community, and "journalists and sympathisers" of ''The Namibian'' were denied entry in shops all over the country.

After independence

The offices of the newspaper were again devastated by a phosphorus grenade attack shortly after Namibian independence in 1990 by a right-wing counterrevolutionary group whose plot to unseat SWAPO was covered by ''The Namibian''. However, the critical approach of the newspaper was also disliked by the SWAPO government.

Dirk Mudge Dirk Frederik Mudge (16 January 192826 August 2020) was a Namibian politician. He served in several high-ranking positions in the South African administration of South West Africa, was the chairman of the 1975–1977 Turnhalle Constitutional Con ...

, head of the

n-controlled government from

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

wrote at the occasion of the newspaper's 10th anniversary: The unpopularity of the newspaper within government led to a boycott on 5 December 2000 which was overturned only on 30 August 2011, the newspaper's 26th anniversary. In the more than ten years in between, government offices were not allowed to advertise in the newspaper, and it was forbidden to buy copies of ''The Namibian'' with government funds.

Characteristics

A noteworthy feature of ''The Namibian'' are the SMS pages called "What you're saying!". These pages dedicated to "short messages to the editor" allow citizens from all over Namibia to comment on and raise topics, since mobile phones are widespread and cheaper and easier than mail or internet. According to former editor Gwen Lister, ''The Namibian'' was the first newspaper to offer such an open forum for discussion via text message, since similar programmes at other media (e.g. in South Africa) only allowed comment on chosen articles. The newspaper has offices 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 ...

Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

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 ...

and Oshakati. The current editor of the newspaper is Tangeni Amupadhi. Until March 2011, the newspaper was headed by its founder Gwen Lister.Toivo Ndjebela: Amupadhi to edit ''The Namibian'', in: New Era (Namibia), 2 March 2011 Its circulation in 2010 was 40,000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Namibian 1985 establishments in South West Africa English-language newspapers published in Namibia Mass media in Windhoek Daily newspapers published in Namibia Ovambo-language mass media Newspapers established in 1985