One the next to last weekend we were at Ponhofi, I was over in the computer lab working away and went outside to get some fresh air. I heard what sounded like a band tuning up for a concert, so I followed the sound and came upon a tent set up at the town park. There was a band unloading nearby, so it looked to me like we were in for a concert. Cool, I thought. When I approached the tent a man met me and said I couldn't go in yet, which was fine by me; I still had work to do.
Meanwhile, Dona had hitchhiked up to Oshikango to buy some paint; on her way back she got stuck in a big traffic jam. The traffic jam, she learned, was caused by the motorcade of Hifikepunye Pohamba, the president of Namibia, who was coming to speak at a political rally for the SWAPO (South West African Peoples' Organization) party. That rally was what I thought was going to be a concert.
As representatives of World Teach, we were not supposed to attend political rallies, and in particular we were not supposed to express a political opinion. That all made sense, since World Teach needs to be able to work under whichever political administration happens to be in power at any given time. However, this was our only chance to see and hear the president of the country speak, so we decided to attend the rally.
Dona came by the computer lab after she was done painting in her classroom. I was doing some network wiring with Yuta and asked him if he wanted to come along to the rally, and we all three walked over to the rally grounds. People were arriving literally by the truckload, and marching to the rally site as if in a parade. Many were dressed in their traditional Owambo pink, while others were dressed in the green, red, and blue SWAPO colors. I was taking photos, and after a while one of the security guards came up and informed me I was not supposed to take pictures of any of the security operations. He then asked to see the pictures I'd taken, one of which had a security guy in it, which he asked me to delete. It all seems rather lame, when if one really wanted to scope out the security one could use a miniature camera and no-one would be the wiser.
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| Swapo Parade | Swapo Parade |
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| Swapo Parade |
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| Swapo Arrivals | |
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| Man in SWAPO Colors |
There was now a line at the entrance tent; I assumed we were buying tickets. It was in fact a security checkpoint, and both Dona and I had to give up our multi-tools. They were marked with our names and put in a special box, and we were promised they would be returned when we left.
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| Entry Line to the SWAPO Rally |
The grounds had three big tents set up with about ten rows of chairs each. It was clear all the seats were taken. I wanted to be able to take pictures, so we scooted to the front and made ourselves comfortable.
There was a separate tent set up to provide the dignitaries seats and shade. Various members of the press had tripods set up in front of the podium, and there were five or six big security guys walking up and down in front of the stands.
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| SWAPO Rally Grounds |
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| Dignitary Tent |
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| Security Guard |
We learned that the reason for the rally was an interim election, as the governor of Ohangwena region had died and a new governor was being elected. There was a long speech by someone whose name and position we didn't understand; it was probably the canditate for regional governor.
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| Primary Rally Speaker
The candidate for regional governor? |
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| Crowd |
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| Crowd |
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| Crowd |
About the time the rally started, the people immediately behind us indicated we shouldn't have to sit on the ground and passed us up some chairs! We were already feeling a bit conspicuous as the only white people present and sitting in front of the front row; the passing of chairs made us feel even more conspicuous.
The speaches started, in Oshikwanyama, so we couldn't understand anything -- except the "Viva! SWAPO!" chants. Whenever this was about to happen people would leave their chairs and congregate in front of the podium, then raise their right arms and make a fist when they yelled.
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| Rallying Fists | Dignitaries | |
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| Spectators | Colorful Woman |
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| Namibian Flag | Swapo Colors |
We spotted the president sitting in the front row of dignitaries.
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| Hifikepunye Pohamba
President of Namibia (2005-2014) |
At one point a group of local children did some traditional dancing.
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| Performing Kids |
The band "Big Mama" played some good music at intermission.
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| Band |
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Press Corps |
After a very long-winded speach by one of the party big-wigs, the president came up to the podium. He said that since English was the official language of Namibia, he had a prepared speach to give in English. But then he said that since he was in Owambo country, he would give a speach in "Namlish." He then switched to Oshikwanyama, and we couldn't understand a word of it.
A few minutes into his speech, the woman behind us who had arranged for our chairs leaned forward and asked if we could understand what President Pohamba was saying. We said "No." She then asked is we would like an interpreter! We said we'd be delighted! So we moved our chairs apart to make room, and she moved up and sat between us and gave us an on-the-fly translation of the prisident's speech. Now that is hospitality!
He started by talking about being in a sacred place of national importance. He pointed to one of the big trees and told how back during the struggle for independence (1980-1990) a South African man was trying to convince the people that they would be better off under South African rule than as an independent country. A local Owambo man climbed up in the tree and told everyone not to believe the man from South Africa, that most of what he was saying was not true. And apparently "That was the start of the struggle for independence."
We were impressed by the president's speech. He made a point of saying that Namibia was a democracy, and every person had a right to vote for their choice of candidate. He did not want any members of his party (SWAPO) taking part in any election related violence.
He also publicly chastised an official from his own party, the interior minister for the Ohangwena district, because on his way to the event they saw a big water main that was broken and gushing water everywhere -- wasting a valuable resource. Why wasn't it turned off? Why wasn't it being fixed?
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| President Pohamba and Xxx | President Pohamba |
We later learned that our translator, Ndanoma Mwaningange, is the daughter of the first governor of the Ohangwena region, Billy Mwaningange. We were rubbing elbows with the elite and didn't know it...
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| Dona and Ndamona Mwaningange | |
At the end of the rally the crowd cheered mightily, the band struck up a tune, and everyone got up and danced. Dona couldn't help it and got up to dance too.
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| Cheering Crowd | |
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| Dona and Ndamona Mwaningange |
At the end of the rally we checked with the security folks and got our multi-tools back. Yea! One the way out we saw a parked truck with campaign banners for Hage Geingob, the SWAPO candidate to replace President Pohamba at the end of 2014. He did win, and will be the next president of Namibia when President Pohamba's term ends in 2015.
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| Truck with Election Banner for Hage Geingob for President |
Then we had a leisurely walk back to school under a (as usual) clear blue Namibian sky.
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| Dona and Yuta heading back to Ponhofi |
This page last updated on 2015-01-12.
