When Namibia’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took the oath of office earlier this year, she did more than just become the country’s first female president. She challenged Africa’s long-standing assumptions about who leads, when they should lead, and why experience should not be mistaken for exhaustion.
At 72, President Nandi-Ndaitwah enters office at a time when many across the continent are demanding generational change. Yet her victory is also a reminder that renewal does not always come dressed in youth — sometimes it comes in wisdom, conviction, and the willingness to act when others hesitate.
Her predecessor, President Nangolo Mbumba, famously declined to run for re-election, joking that at 83 he preferred to spend time with his grandchildren — “At my age, I have nothing new to offer.” The irony is that just ten years younger, Nandi-Ndaitwah refused to fade quietly into retirement. She chose instead to take the bull by the horns and ran — and won. Her success forces us to confront a question many avoid: does age only become a disqualifier when the candidate is a woman?
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For decades, Nandi-Ndaitwah has been at the center of Namibian politics — a liberation stalwart, a disciplined diplomat, and a steady hand in government. From her days as Foreign Minister to her tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President, she has represented continuity and competence. But what makes her presidency significant is not only that she is Namibia’s first woman to hold the highest office — it’s that she’s using it to rewrite the narrative of leadership itself.
Within days of assuming power, she announced one of the most gender-balanced cabinets on the continent, with women holding more than half of all ministerial positions, including the powerful finance and education portfolios. She also appointed Lucia Witbooi as the country’s first female Vice President and retained Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila as Speaker of the National Assembly. For the first time in Namibia’s history — and almost anywhere in Africa — the three top positions of state are held by women.
In one stroke, Namibia has leapt to the top of Africa’s gender parity rankings. But this is not tokenism. “This is not symbolic,” she said during her inauguration. “It is the face of the Namibia we are building — equal, fair, and representative.”
Her message is clear: representation is power, but representation must deliver. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s early policies show a president determined to tie equality to economic justice. She has pledged to make tertiary and vocational education free by 2026, expand job opportunities for the youth, and ensure that the country’s vast natural resources benefit Namibians before anyone else. “Namibians must no longer stand outside the gates of their own wealth,” she said — a phrase already echoing across Windhoek like a new national motto.
Her focus on “value addition at home” — to stop the export of unprocessed minerals and instead build local industries — is not just economic policy. It’s political philosophy. It says to the world that Namibia will no longer be a supplier of raw wealth for others to refine. It also says to Namibians that self-reliance is not a dream, but a strategy.
The question now is whether the promise can meet the pressure. Transformational policies come with heavy costs, and Namibia’s fiscal space is tight. Free education, job creation, and industrial reform require funding, coordination, and time — all while keeping faith with a restless youth population eager for tangible change.
And that is where the generational paradox deepens. Young Namibians, who form the majority of the population, have embraced her rhetoric but are watching closely for results. They have grown up in the age of unemployment, inequality, and disillusionment. They crave action, not ceremony. For them, Madame President’s real test will not be how many women she appointed, but how many young people she empowers.
Across Africa, her rise has inspired women and men alike. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan called it “a victory for all African women.” Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf described her as “a symbol of courage and continuity.” But admiration, as we know, is fleeting. Power, especially in Africa, is judged not by who breaks barriers but by who builds beyond them.
Still, it’s hard not to feel that something fundamental has shifted. Namibia, once seen as a quiet and cautious democracy, has suddenly become a case study in progressive leadership. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s ascent tells every young girl in Africa that the presidency is not a man’s prize — it is a citizen’s possibility.
Yet she, too, must heed a truth as old as democracy itself: no generation can govern alone. The future of Namibia — like the future of Africa — depends on blending the wisdom of the old with the imagination of the young. Experience without renewal stagnates; youth without guidance risks chaos.
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Madame President has struck the right notes in her first months. But harmony, as any conductor knows, comes not from one voice, but from many playing in rhythm. She has changed the face of leadership. Now she must change the lives that face her.
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Daniel Makokera is a renowed media personality who has worked as journalist, television anchor, producer and conference presenter for over 20 years. Throughout his career as presenter and anchor, he has travelled widely across the continent and held exclusive interviews with some of Africa’s most illustrious leaders. These include former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former South African presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He currently is the CEO of Pamuzinda Productions based in South Africa.
