Editing History of Namibia (section)

== Independent Namibia==
[[File:Namibia.SamNujoma.01.jpg|thumb|left|125px|Namibia's founding president, [[Sam Nujoma]].]]

Since independence Namibia has successfully completed the transition from white minority apartheid rule to a democratic society. [[Multiparty democracy]] was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and [[Elections in Namibia|national elections]] held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although [[SWAPO]] Party has won every election since independence.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Country report: Spotlight on Namibia 
 |publisher=[[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] Secretariat 
 |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/34581/224187/250510spotlightonnamibia.htm 
 |access-date=12 July 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705012456/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/34581/224187/250510spotlightonnamibia.htm 
 |archive-date=5 July 2010 
}}</ref> The transition from the 15-year rule of President [[Sam Nujoma]] to his successor, [[Hifikepunye Pohamba]] in 2005 went smoothly.<ref>{{cite web
|title=IRIN country profile Namibia
|publisher=[[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]]
|url=http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=NA&RegionCode=SAF
|access-date=12 July 2010
|archive-date=17 February 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217173041/http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=NA&RegionCode=SAF
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Namibian government has promoted a policy of national reconciliation and issued an amnesty for those who had fought on either side during the liberation war. The civil war in [[Angola]] had a limited impact on Namibians living in the north of the country. In 1998, [[Namibia Defence Force]] (NDF) troops were sent to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] as part of a [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC) contingent. In August 1999, a secessionist attempt in the northeastern Caprivi region was successfully quashed.

=== Re-election of Sam Nujoma ===
Sam Nujoma won the presidential elections of 1994 with 76.34% of the votes. There was only one other candidate, [[Mishake Muyongo]] of the [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia|DTA]].<ref name="African Election Database">{{cite web
| url = http://africanelections.tripod.com/na.html
| title = Elections in Namibia
| publisher = African Election Database
| access-date = 26 August 2006
| archive-date = 8 February 2007
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070208025416/http://africanelections.tripod.com/na.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

In 1998, with one year until the scheduled presidential election when Sam Nujoma would not be allowed to participate in since he had already served the two terms that the constitution allows, SWAPO amended the constitution, allowing three terms instead of two. They were able to do this since SWAPO had a two-thirds majority in both the [[National Assembly of Namibia]] and the [[National Council of Namibia|National Council]], which is the minimum needed to amend the constitution.

Sam Nujoma was reelected as president in 1999, winning the election, that had a 62.1% [[Voter turnout|turnout]] with 76.82%. Second was [[Ben Ulenga]] from the [[Congress of Democrats]] (COD), that won 10.49% of the votes.

Ben Ulenga is a former SWAPO member and [[Deputy Minister]] of [[Natural environment|Environment]] and Tourism, and [[High Commissioner]] to the United Kingdom.
<ref name="COD Ben Ulenga">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.cod.org.na/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=100&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
 |title        = Benjamin Ulenga: Congress of Democrats
 |publisher    = Congress of Democrats
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003137/http://www.cod.org.na/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=100&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
 |archive-date = 27 September 2007
 |url-status     = dead
 |df           = dmy-all
}}</ref>
He left SWAPO and became one of the founding members of COD in 1998, after clashing with his party on several questions. He did not approve of the amendment to the constitution, and criticised Namibia's involvement in Congo.

Nujoma was succeeded as President of Namibia by [[Hifikepunye Pohamba]] in 2005.<ref name="African Election Database" />

=== Land reform ===
One of SWAPO's policies, that had been formulated long before the party came into power, was [[land reform]]. Namibia's colonial and [[Apartheid]] past had resulted in a situation where about 20 percent of the population owned about 75 percent of all the land.
<ref name="Situation Report">{{cite web
| first = Vincent
| last = William
| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RSDCOI&id=3ae6a6cb8&page=publ
| title = Namibia: Situation Report
| publisher = United Nations High Commission on Refugees
| access-date = 26 August 2006
| archive-date = 24 August 2006
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060824221917/http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RSDCOI&id=3ae6a6cb8&page=publ
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
Land was supposed to be redistributed mostly from the white minority to previously landless communities and ex-combatants. The land reform has been slow, mainly because Namibia's constitution only allows land to be bought from farmers willing to sell. Also, the price of land is very high in Namibia, which further complicates the matter.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} [[Squatting in Namibia|Squatting]] occurs when internal migrants move to the cities and live in [[informal settlements]].<ref name="Rogerson">{{cite journal |last1=Rogerson |first1=C. M. |title=Aspects of urban management in Windhoek, Namibia |journal=Urban Forum |date=March 1990 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=29–47 |doi=10.1007/BF03036525|s2cid=153889189 }}</ref>

President Sam Nujoma has been vocal in his support of [[Zimbabwe]] and its president [[Robert Mugabe]]. During the land crisis in Zimbabwe, where the government confiscated white farmers' land by force, fears rose among the white minority and the western world that the same method would be used in Namibia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Alden|first1=Chris|last2=Anseeuw|first2=Ward|date=8 July 2016|title=The Gathering Storm? Namibia and the Land Question|url=https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/handle/10071/11693|journal=2nd International Conference on Wars and Violent Conflicts in Africa|access-date=29 April 2020|archive-date=21 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621081755/https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/handle/10071/11693|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Congolese soldier.jpg|thumb|right|125px|A Congolese rebel during the [[Second Congo War]], 2001.]]

=== Involvement in conflicts in Angola and DRC ===
In 1999 Namibia signed a mutual defence pact with its northern neighbour [[Angola]].<ref name="Situation Report"/>
This affected the [[Angolan Civil War]] that had been ongoing since Angola's independence in 1975. Both being leftist movements, SWAPO wanted to support the ruling party [[MPLA]] in Angola to fight the rebel movement [[UNITA]], whose stronghold was in southern Angola. The defence pact allowed Angolan troops to use Namibian territory when attacking UNITA.

The Angolan civil war resulted in a large number of Angolan refugees coming to Namibia. At its peak in 2001 there were over 30,000 Angolan refugees in Namibia. The calmer situation in Angola has made it possible for many of them to return to their home with the help of [[UNHCR]], and in 2004 only 12,600 remained in Namibia.
<ref name="UNHCR">{{cite web
| url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/statistics/opendoc.pdf?tbl=STATISTICS&id=44e5c7800&page=statistics
| title = 2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook – Namibia
| publisher = United Nations High Commission on Refugees
| access-date = 26 August 2006
| archive-date = 24 August 2006
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060824221929/http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/statistics/opendoc.pdf?tbl=STATISTICS&id=44e5c7800&page=statistics
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
Most of them reside in the [[refugee camp]] [[Osire]] north of [[Windhoek]].

Namibia also intervened in the [[Second Congo War]], sending troops in support of the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]'s president [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]].

=== The Caprivi conflict ===
{{main|Caprivi Conflict}}

The Caprivi conflict was an armed conflict between the [[Caprivi Liberation Army]] (CLA), a rebel group working for the secession of the [[Caprivi Strip]], and the Namibian government. It started in 1994 and had its peak in the early hours of 2 August 1999 when CLA launched an attack in [[Katima Mulilo]], the provincial capital of the Caprivi Region. Forces of the Namibian government struck back and arrested a number of alleged CLA supporters. The Caprivi conflict has led to the longest<ref name="Menges9">{{cite news
| url = http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=32063&no_cache=1
| title = Main treason trial set to soldier on in September
| newspaper = The Namibian
| author = Werner Menges
| date = 8 August 2007
| access-date = 22 April 2010
| archive-date = 17 March 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120317021737/http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=32063&no_cache=1
| url-status = live
}}</ref> and largest<ref name="Menges5">{{cite news
| url = http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=18591&no_cache=1
| title = Caprivi treason trial up and running again
| newspaper = The Namibian
| author = Werner Menges
| date = 2 November 2005
| access-date = 22 April 2010
| archive-date = 17 March 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120317021301/http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=18591&no_cache=1
| url-status = live
}}</ref> trial in the history of Namibia, the [[Caprivi treason trial]].

=== After Sam Nujoma (2005-present) ===

In March 2005, Namibia's founding president Sam Nujoma stepped down after 15 years in power. He was succeeded by [[Hifikepunye Pohamba]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Namibia's founding president retires|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/namibia-s-founding-president-retires-1.425295|access-date=2021-06-02|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405070009/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/namibia-s-founding-president-retires-1.425295|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2014, Prime Minister [[Hage Geingob]], the candidate of ruling SWAPO, won the presidential elections, taking 87% of the vote. His predecessor, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, also of Swapo, had served the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-12-01|title=Namibian presidential election won by Swapo's Hage Geingob|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30285987|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421133700/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30285987|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2019, President Hage Geingob was re-elected for a second term, taking 56.3% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-12-01|title=Namibia's President Hage Geingob wins re-election|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50618516|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226081154/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50618516|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 February 2024, President Hage Geingob died and he was immediately succeeded by vice-president [[Nangolo Mbumba]] as new President of Namibia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hage Geingob death: Namibia's new President Mbumba sworn-in hours after predecessor dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68196412 |date=4 February 2024}}</ref>

On 21 March 2025, [[Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah]] was sworn in as Namibia's first female president. She had won November's [[2024 Namibian general election|election]] with a 58% share of the vote as the candidate of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo).<ref>{{cite news |title=Namibia swears in first female president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8ln5g12wo |work=www.bbc.com |date=21 March 2025}}</ref>