Namibia Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026

NAMIBIA · POLITICS

Namibia politics in October 2026 is built around President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the first woman to lead the country, and SWAPO, the former liberation movement that led Namibia to independence in 1990. This guide names who holds each major office as of October 2026, how the National Assembly is split, and where power is still contested.

For US readers the stakes are an oil decision by TotalEnergies, a green hydrogen decision that has slipped to the end of 2027, and a land and genocide agenda that remains unresolved. The guide to who runs the Namibia economy and the Namibia explainer give the wider background.

The President and the Cabinet

Under Article 27(1) of the Constitution the president is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Defence Force. Terms run five years with a limit of two, and Nandi-Ndaitwah’s first term began on 21 March 2025.

Nandi-Ndaitwah won the presidential vote held from 27 to 30 November 2024 with 638,560 of 1,099,582 votes counted, or 58.07%, according to the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s gazette of 3 January 2025. Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) came second with 284,106 votes, or 25.84%.

Lucia Witbooi has been vice president since the cabinet was announced on 22 March 2025, and she read the president’s address to the Council of Traditional Leaders in Otjiwarongo on 19 October 2026. Elijah Ngurare has been prime minister since the same announcement, and in June 2026 he tabled the nomination of the new Anti-Corruption Commission head in the National Assembly.

The post of deputy prime minister, held by Natangwe Ithete until the president relieved him on 26 October 2025, is not shown as filled on Parliament’s list of office holders in October 2026. Ithete, who also ran the industries, mines and energy ministry, remains a member of parliament, and the list marks him as relieved.

Frans Kapofi is minister of defence and veterans affairs, and Ericah Shafudah is finance minister, who was due to table the mid-term budget review on 22 October 2026. Fillemon Wise Immanuel is justice and labour relations minister, and Lucia Iipumbu runs home affairs, immigration, safety and security.

Modestus Amutse has led industries, mines and energy since 2 December 2025, after Kapofi acted in the post in the interim. Inge Zaamwani holds agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform, and Selma Ashipala-Musavyi is minister of international relations and trade.

The president cut the cabinet from 21 to 14 ministries in her first cabinet, then on 2 April 2026 appointed a new minister in the Office of the President and seven deputy ministers, all councillors elected in 2025, The Namibian reported. Institute for Public Policy Research executive director Graham Hopwood said the mergers were well intentioned but may have backfired because ministers struggle to cover all their bases.

SWAPO and the Race to the 2027 Congress

SWAPO, the former liberation movement that led Namibia to independence in 1990, won 583,300 votes and 51 of the 96 elected National Assembly seats in 2024, or 53.38% of the votes counted. Nandi-Ndaitwah leads the party as president after an extraordinary congress in March 2025, and Sophia Shaningwa is its secretary general.

The party will elect its four top officers, the president, vice president, secretary general and deputy secretary general, at an elective congress expected in 2027, The Namibian reported. Speculation about challengers has already surfaced, and on 1 August 2026 Shaningwa dismissed claims that she plans to unseat the president, saying “If I wanted to become president, I would have contested in 2022.”

Names floated for the top four include Prime Minister Ngurare and Swapo Party Youth League leader Ephraim Nekongo. Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi, whom The Namibian counts among the most publicly visible ministers in the new administration, ruled himself out of the secretary general race on 2 March 2026.

In the local authority elections of 26 November 2025, SWAPO took 52.4% of all seats nationwide, up from 39.85% in 2020, while turnout was only about 36%, New Era reported. The IPC fell to 15.01% of votes from 21.20% in 2020, and The Namibian describes SWAPO as dominant in the National Council after those elections.

The Opposition, From the IPC to the Small Parties

The IPC, whose president is Itula, won 220,809 votes and 20 seats in the 2024 National Assembly election, making it the largest opposition party. Itula does not sit in the Assembly, so Imms Nashinge, whom Itula named on 12 April 2025 after first refusing to fill the post, serves as leader of the official opposition.

Parliament’s list of office holders names Nashinge as leader of the official opposition and Rodney Cloete as IPC chief whip as of 26 October 2026. Itula keeps a public role as party president, and on 2 March 2026 he called the 2026/27 budget “business-as-usual” at a press conference in Windhoek.

Behind the IPC, the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement of Job Amupanda holds 6 seats, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) of Bernadus Swartbooi holds 5, and the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) of McHenry Venaani holds 5. The United Democratic Front (UDF) holds 2 seats and seven small parties hold 1 each, which leaves 45 opposition seats against 51 for SWAPO.

AR entered local authority elections for the first time in 2025 and won seats in nine local authorities, including one in the City of Windhoek, New Era reported. Amupanda, now an MP and a professor, has argued against the petroleum bill in the Assembly.

On 24 February 2026 Itula accused the president of misleading the public by saying her family has no hand in the oil industry. She had said her children have no interests, direct or indirect, in oil and gas, and her two sons rejected his claims as lies in a written response to The Namibian.

Parliament and the National Council

The National Assembly has 104 members: 96 elected on party lists and eight non-voting members appointed by the president, according to Parliament’s website. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, a former prime minister, is Speaker and Phillipus Katamelo is Deputy Speaker.

Decisions on nominations need 49 votes, and opposition members have repeatedly walked out of the chamber to deny that number. In September 2026 SWAPO’s 48 members present needed one more vote to confirm Gerson Sindano as Electoral Commission chair, and the UDF’s Nico Somaeb supplied it after three opposition walkouts, New Era reported.

On 2 September 2026 IPC member Michael Mulunga moved a motion under Article 51 of the Constitution to remove the Speaker, citing two disrupted sittings in 2026. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila deferred her ruling, and Mulunga said on 12 September that the IPC was finalising the legal requirements to resubmit the motion.

The National Council, the upper house, has 42 members, three from each of the 14 regions, nominated by the regional councils for five-year terms. Its job is to review bills passed by the National Assembly, and Lukas Sinimbo Muha is its chairperson.

Regional governors are appointed by the president, and all 14 posts had been filled by July 2025, New Era reported, with governors reporting through a senior presidential adviser. Regional council elections took place on 26 November 2025, alongside the local authority elections.

Courts, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Electoral Body

Peter Shivute is chief justice, and Petrus Damaseb is deputy chief justice and judge president of the High Court, according to Office of the Judiciary statements carried by The Namibian on 5 August and 28 September 2026. Damaseb is also an ex officio member of the Supreme Court, and in August 2026 he was nominated to a Tanzanian commission of inquiry into post-election violence.

On 28 February 2025 five Supreme Court judges unanimously dismissed the challenge by Itula and LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi to the 2024 presidential election. The court found that then president Nangolo Mbumba could extend voting where ballot shortages and equipment problems kept voters out, and that extending it at 36 of 4,699 polling stations was not discriminatory.

Bryan Eiseb, formerly director of the Financial Intelligence Centre at the Bank of Namibia, took over as director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in early October 2026 after Paulus Noa ended a 20-year tenure. The National Assembly unanimously approved his nomination for a five-year term, The Namibian reported on 2 August 2026, and he has called the oil and gas sector “highly prone to corruption.”

Noa’s own term expired on 31 July 2026, and the president kept him on as acting head for two more months, which the IPC said on 6 August overstepped the Constitution because parliament had not approved the extension. The party said the Constitution and the Anti-Corruption Act give the National Assembly, not the president, the power to appoint or extend the post after a presidential nomination.

Gerson Sindano chairs the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), the body that ran the 2024 national elections and the 2025 regional and local elections. The Assembly approved him in September 2026, and AR leader Job Amupanda threatened legal action to obtain records of the selection and nomination process.

The Defence Force and the Police

Frans Kapofi is minister of defence and veterans affairs, and the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) is led by Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Martin Kambulu Pinehas, who addressed 1,703 graduating recruits at Osona on 21 May 2026. Under Article 27(1) the president is commander-in-chief, and Namibia’s regional relationships are covered in the guide to Namibia and its neighbours in Southern Africa.

The ransomware group RansomHouse listed the defence ministry as a victim in September 2026, and Namibia’s cyber incident response team, Nam-CSIRT, confirmed unauthorised activity on the ministry’s network on 18 September. Kapofi told The Namibian he had only been informed that the ministry was having difficulty accessing some information.

On 5 May 2026 the president suspended Inspector General Joseph Shikongo and appointed Major General Anne-Marie Nainda acting inspector general of the Namibian Police Force for one year, citing Article 32(4)(c)(bb) of the Constitution, New Era reported. The reasons for the suspension were not disclosed, and Nainda was still acting inspector general in October 2026.

Home Affairs Minister Lucia Iipumbu launched Operation Basadi, a crime-fighting drive, in Windhoek on 18 September 2026. She told officers that their powers must be used lawfully, professionally and with respect for human dignity.

Land, Traditional Authorities and the Genocide Deal

Agriculture Minister Inge Zaamwani reintroduced the Land Bill in the National Assembly on 30 September 2025, after former minister Carl Schlettwein introduced it on 13 March 2025 without debate. It would merge all land laws into a single Land Act, create a central Land Tribunal and bar foreign nationals from acquiring land.

The Assembly’s order paper for 22 October 2026 lists the resumed second-reading debate on the Land Bill, so the bill has not yet passed the House. Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah told The Namibian on 2 June 2026 that it should receive the highest priority, calling land one of Namibia’s most sensitive national issues.

Chief Immanuel Gaseb, who headed the traditional leaders’ council in October 2025, told a parliamentary committee that the bill would strip traditional leaders of a say over communal land and urged Parliament to halt the debate, New Era reported. At the council’s 27th annual meeting in Otjiwarongo on 19 October 2026, the president’s message warned against land grabbing, illegal fencing and the unauthorised sale of communal land.

PDM leader McHenry Venaani told the Assembly during debate on appointing a new Land Reform Advisory Commission that the resettlement programme is “not working” and “no longer bankable”, The Namibian reported on 24 September 2026. The four nominees, named in Zaamwani’s motion, would serve in an advisory capacity through 30 April 2029.

In 2021 negotiators for Namibia and Germany agreed the text of a joint declaration in which Germany acknowledged the colonial killings of Ovaherero and Nama people from 1904 to 1908 as a genocide. Germany also offered 1.1 billion euros (about US$1.2 billion at EUR 0.8925 per US$, the 23 October 2026 close) in development aid over 30 years, and a High Court bench noted in November 2025 that the declaration is not final.

The applicants in that High Court case say the aid is not reparations, and in an April 2025 interview the president said Parliament had not accepted the offered sum. She said Germany had agreed to look at increasing its support and that talks would resume once the new governments in both countries were fully operational.

The Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA), the LPM and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association have asked the High Court to set aside the declaration and the Speaker’s decision to note it. OTA paramount chief Mutjinde Katjiua, who leads one faction, said on 11 August 2026 that “It cannot be about us, without us” and accused the Hoze Riruako faction of lacking a mandate.

The president was absent from the national Genocide Remembrance Day events on 30 May 2026, and Vice President Witbooi attended the event in Ohangwena on the government’s behalf. Presidential spokesperson Jonas Mbambo said the day should not be reduced to politics or personalities, while National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) MP Vetaruhe Kandorozu called her absence “the wrong signal.”

Oil, Hydrogen and the Politics of Money

TotalEnergies, the French company that discovered oil at its Venus prospect in 2022, and the government were still negotiating terms in October 2026, The Namibian reported, citing unnamed sources on disputes over the licence period, arbitration, taxation and a stabilisation clause. TotalEnergies declined to comment on “such unsubstantiated speculation”, and Presidency spokesperson Jonas Mbambo said the discussions should proceed “in good faith without pre-empting their outcome.”

Chief executive Patrick Pouyanné told investors on 28 September 2026 that a final investment decision was “a matter of weeks” away and that Venus is expected to produce 160,000 barrels a day, while The Namibian cited an earlier company estimate of about US$17 billion to build the field. Background on the project is in this report on TotalEnergies and the Venus and Mopane fields.

The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Amendment Bill would move the Upstream Petroleum Unit from the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy to the Office of the President, and after second-reading approval the Assembly’s order paper listed its committee stage on 22 October 2026. Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi defended it in March, saying “the president has the power to establish any unit, office, or department.”

Amupanda told the Assembly on 30 September 2026 that the bill replaces “Minister” with “President” in several sections of the 1991 Petroleum Act and with “Director-General” in at least seventy provisions. Opposition leaders including Nashinge and the LPM’s Dawid Eigub said at a joint briefing on 21 October that the bill threatens democratic principles.

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a green hydrogen developer in which the state holds 24% through the SDG Namibia One fund, has pushed its final investment decision to the end of 2027, The Namibian reported on 6 October 2026. The government had forecast up to 15,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs, with 90% expected to go to Namibians.

The African Development Bank announced a reimbursable grant to help the project reach that decision, following a US$10 million grant in December 2025. The government secured 40 million euros (about US$45 million) in grant funding that partly covered its share of development costs.

IPC shadow minister Rodney Cloete wants a report to Parliament on what the 24% stake has cost and whether Hyphen has an offtake agreement for its ammonia. He says every delay is “now partly ours” because the state is also an investor.

Finance Minister Shafudah was due to table the 2026/27 mid-term budget review on 22 October 2026, and Parliament has since posted the statement on its website. Economists told The Namibian that revenue was falling short, that borrowing was likely to rise, and that foot-and-mouth disease, drought and fuel prices posed the highest risks.

What It Means for US Readers

The State Department rates Namibia at Level 2, exercise increased caution, in an advisory issued on 15 May 2026, citing crimes of opportunity and the possibility of home invasions and armed robberies. The Namibia travel guide covers seasons, visas and safety in more detail.

US Ambassador John Giordano has pitched Namibian energy, mining and infrastructure projects to American investors, and joined the president at a US-Namibia Presidential Roundtable in New York, according to his statement of 21 October 2026. The statement did not disclose the value of investments or specific deals, The Namibian noted.

At a reception on 4 August 2026, Giordano said a partner that arrives with “state-subsidised capital, opaque contracts and offtake arrangements designed to concentrate control” is “a strategic liability”, without naming a country. Namibia’s defence ties with China were reaffirmed at an event in Windhoek on 23 July 2026, New Era reported, after the president’s state visit to China, and the Namibia geopolitics guide sets out how the great powers compete for Namibia.

The Namibian reported on 3 June 2026, citing an Associated Press report, that the State Department planned to cut the number of African posts that process visas, and an opinion piece on 9 August 2026 said Namibians must apply through Johannesburg or Cape Town from 1 August. The US embassy in Windhoek said in June that no closures had been announced and that operations continued as normal.

What Is Not Known

No final investment decision on Venus had been announced by 26 October 2026, and the licence period, arbitration and stabilisation terms under discussion have not been published. The petroleum bill that would move petroleum powers to the president passed second reading and was listed for committee stage on 22 October 2026, and The Namibian reported that Total is negotiating under the existing 1991 Petroleum Act.

The reasons for the president’s suspension of Inspector General Shikongo on 5 May 2026 have not been disclosed, and Nainda holds the post only in an acting capacity for one year. Which candidates will contest the four top SWAPO posts at the 2027 congress has not been announced.

No judgment has been reported in the High Court challenge to the Germany joint declaration, and the Land Bill was still in second-reading debate on 22 October 2026. Traditional leaders say the Land Bill weakens their role, while the minister says it consolidates land laws, so the final text is disputed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the president of Namibia in 2026?

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was inaugurated on 21 March 2025 as the first woman to lead Namibia. She won the November 2024 election with 58.07% of the votes counted.

Who is the prime minister and vice president of Namibia?

Elijah Ngurare is prime minister and Lucia Witbooi is vice president, both named on 22 March 2025 and both in office in October 2026. Parliament’s list shows no deputy prime minister.

Which party rules Namibia?

SWAPO, the former liberation movement, holds the presidency and 51 of the 96 elected seats in the National Assembly. The IPC is the largest opposition party with 20 seats.

Who leads the opposition in Namibia?

Imms Nashinge of the IPC is leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, according to Parliament’s list. IPC president Panduleni Itula, the 2024 runner-up with 25.84%, is not a member of the Assembly.

Is it safe for Americans to travel to Namibia?

The State Department rates Namibia at Level 2, exercise increased caution, in an advisory issued on 15 May 2026. It cites crimes of opportunity and the possibility of home invasions and armed robberies.

What is the Namibia and Germany genocide agreement?

Under a 2021 joint declaration, Germany acknowledged the 1904 to 1908 genocide and offered 1.1 billion euros (about US$1.2 billion) in development aid over 30 years. Ovaherero and Nama groups and the LPM have challenged it in the High Court.

Sources: Electoral Commission of Namibia, Government Gazette No. 8555 with 2024 presidential and National Assembly results, 2025-01-03; Parliament of Namibia, political parties and office holders, 2026-10-26; Parliament of Namibia, National Assembly and presiding officers, 2026-10-26; Parliament of Namibia, National Council, 2026-10-26; Parliament of Namibia, National Assembly order paper No. 83, 2026-10-22; Parliament of Namibia, mid-year budget review statement 2026/27, 2026-10-22; Electoral Commission of Namibia, commissioners, 2026-10-26; Constitution of Namibia (text as reproduced by Constitute), 2026-10-26; US Department of State, Namibia travel advisory, 2026-05-15; Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, shareholders, 2026-10-26; The Namibian, new Cabinet announced, 2025-03-22; The Namibian, Ithete dismissed, 2025-10-27; The Namibian, Amutse appointed energy minister, 2025-12-02; The Namibian, new deputy ministers, 2026-04-02; The Namibian, cabinet size and deputies, 2026-04-05; The Namibian, Supreme Court election ruling, 2025-02-28; The Namibian, Nashinge named opposition leader, 2025-04-13; The Namibian, Itula on the 2026/27 budget, 2026-03-03; The Namibian, Itula oil allegation, 2026-02-24; The Namibian, response to the allegation, 2026-02-25; The Namibian, motion to remove the Speaker, 2026-09-02; The Namibian, Speaker defers ruling, 2026-09-02; The Namibian, IPC to resubmit motion, 2026-09-13; The Namibian, ECN chair vote stalls, 2026-09-01; The Namibian, Eiseb nominated, 2026-06-23; The Namibian, Eiseb on corruption, 2026-08-02; The Namibian, IPC on the ACC extension, 2026-08-06; The Namibian, Noa exit and Eiseb, 2026-10-04; The Namibian, new ACC head, 2026-10-20; The Namibian, chief justice statement, 2026-09-28; The Namibian, Strydom honoured at Supreme Court session, 2026-10-01; The Namibian, deputy chief justice nominated, 2026-08-05; The Namibian, defence ministry hack confirmed, 2026-09-19; The Namibian, RansomHouse and the NDF, 2026-09-20; The Namibian, Operation Basadi, 2026-09-19; The Namibian, Swapo secretary general, 2026-08-03; The Namibian, Nekundi and the 2027 congress, 2026-03-04; The Namibian, president at the Swapo central committee, 2025-09-16; The Namibian, traditional leaders meeting, 2026-10-21; The Namibian, Genocide Remembrance Day, 2026-05-31; The Namibian, Land Bill motivation statement, 2025-10-07; The Namibian, Assembly agenda, 2026-06-02; The Namibian, resettlement debate, 2026-09-24; The Namibian, High Court genocide case, 2025-11-18; The Namibian, Ovaherero Traditional Authority, 2026-08-11; The Namibian, Venus talks, 2026-10-04; The Namibian, TotalEnergies investor day, 2026-09-30; The Namibian, petroleum bill briefing, 2026-10-22; The Namibian, petroleum bill debate, 2026-03-26; The Namibian, Amupanda speech, 2026-10-02; The Namibian, Hyphen delay, 2026-10-06; The Namibian, mid-term budget review, 2026-10-22; The Namibian, Office of the Prime Minister, 2026-10-06; The Namibian, attorney general adviser, 2026-06-08; The Namibian, US ambassador, 2026-10-21; The Namibian, US embassy reception, 2026-08-05; The Namibian, US visa processing, 2026-06-03; The Namibian, opinion on US visa service, 2026-08-09; New Era, local authority results, 2025-12-01; New Era, Sindano approved, 2026-09-10; New Era, police chief suspended, 2026-05-07; New Era, acting inspector general, 2026-10-19; New Era, NDF graduation, 2026-05-22; New Era, Namibia-China defence ties, 2026-07-27; New Era, traditional leaders and the Land Bill, 2025-10-23; New Era, genocide talks, 2025-04-08; New Era, review of 2025, 2025-12-19; New Era, political moments of 2025, 2025-12-19; New Era, governors induction, 2025-07-07. Related coverage: Rio Times Namibia page.

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