Squatting in Namibia

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sky above informal settlement
Shacks in Katatura, Windhoek

informal settlements
across the country. Squatting continues to be regulated by the Squatters Proclamation of 1985; a challenge to this law was dismissed by the High Court in 2023.

History

Colonial times

In pre-colonial times there was no notion of formal land ownership in

Whites.[5][4]

Post-independence

informal settlement in Swakopmund
House made from sheets of corrugated metal
A shack in Gobabis

When

informal settlements began to grow;[6] in the twenty-first century, squatting in Namibia most often occurs when poor migrants from the rural north move to the capital Windhoek and live in such settlements.[3] Squatters in the Vergenoeg shanty town on the edge of Okahandja were told in 2019 they had to make way for a new highway between Okahandja and Windhoek; five thousand people were affected.[7]

Government plans to upgrade settlements have been criticised by squatters who either have been moved to a temporary site then not resettled or have not received promised improvements.[8][9] In Havana in Windhoek, there were many cases of Hepatitis E in 2018.[10] During the COVID-19 pandemic, squatters in Outjo voiced concern about finding food and firewood during lockdown.[11]

In 2020, the Harambee Prosperity Plan 2 was released. It declared that 401,748 people were living in 113 informal settlements across the country. Almost 100,000 of these people lived in Windhoek, 76,068 in Rundu, 52,870 in Otjiwarongo, 35,452 in Oshakati, over 24,000 in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, over 13,000 in Rehoboth, 11,400 in Tsumeb, 8,670 in Nkurenkuru and 8,090 in Gobabis.[12]

Legality

Squatting is regulated by the Squatters Proclamation, AG 21 of 1985, although certain sections were struck out as unconstitutional following Shaanika and Others v Windhoek City Police and Others in 2013.[13][14][15] Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, a land activist, launched a challenge to the proclamation in 2020, claiming it was entirely unconstitutional. Nauyoma had been arrested the previous year for resisting an eviction in Windhoek.[15] In 2023, the High Court dismissed the challenge, saying it had not specified which parts of the proclamation were violating human rights.[16] Nauyoma's lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.[17]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-949995-33-9
    .
  2. ^
    doi:10.1080/03057079308708351
    .
  3. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2004.01.003
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781405184649
    .
  5. ^ a b Tapscott, Chris (1994). "Land reform in Namibia: Why not?". Southern Africa Report. 9 (3). Archived from the original on 24 December 2010.
  6. S2CID 153889189
    .
  7. ^ Ngutjinazo, Okeri (7 August 2019). "Okahandja squatters could stall highway". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  8. ^ Hartman, Adam (29 May 2018). "Walvis squatters petition minister for land". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ^ Nambadja, Charlotte (5 January 2021). "Squatters bemoan empty election promises". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  10. ^ Kangootui, Nomhle (16 November 2018). "Hepatitis hits Havana hard". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  11. ^ Miyanicwe, Clemans (4 April 2020). "Outjo squatters not prepared for lockdown". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  12. ^ Erastus, Nghinomenwa (12 August 2020). "Namibia's ghetto life: Half million live in shacks countrywide". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Squatters Proclamation, AG 21 of 1985" (PDF). Annotated Statutes. Republic of Namibia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Shaanika and Others v Windhoek City Police and Others (A 249/2009) [2010] NAHC 171 (28 October 2010)". Namibialii. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  15. ^ a b Amakali, Maria (17 September 2020). "Land activist challenges squatters law". New Era. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  16. ^ Amakali, Maria (17 February 2023). "Squatter law challenge torn apart". New Era. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  17. ^ Menges, Werner (19 February 2023). "Attack on squatters law fails". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
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