Namibia is edging closer and closer to possibly having its first woman president with the election of Nandi-Ndaitwah Netumbo as party vice-president. Picture: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
This week, Namibia’s ruling party elected Nandi-Ndaitwah Netumbo as its vice-president, making her the frontrunner to lead the party into the country’s upcoming national elections in 2024.
The ruling Swapo party (South West Africa People’s Organisation) elected Netumbo as its new vice-president, making her the front-runner to succeed President Hage Geingob as president in the next elections.
According to the Swapo constitution, she will be the party’s candidate for president when the incumbent, Geingob, completes his limit of two terms in office in about 15 months, said local Namibian media.
So who is Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah? Here are some quick facts.
She was born on October 29, 1952 at Onamutai, in the Oshana Region.
The 70 year-old former minister of women’s affairs has been deputy prime minister of Namibia since 2015.
She holds a MA in diplomatic studies.
Geingob called on the party to accept the result. He declared: “We’ll make history by electing the first woman president in 2024.” He warned his likely successor that the position she will assume will be “a heavy task”.
He spoke at the seventh elective congress of Swapo in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia this week.
Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf congratulated Nandi-Ndaitwah over her election victory.
She said this milestone could put her on course to become a frontrunner in the country’s 2024 elections – and potentially become the nation’s first woman president.
Congratulations to Deputy PM Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah for her election as the Vice-President of #Namibia’s ruling party. This milestone could put her on course to become a frontrunner in the country’s 2024 elections—and potentially become the nation’s first woman president.
— Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (@MaEllenSirleaf) November 28, 2022
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