Namibia’s President Warns of Foreign Interference

Namibia’s President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has sounded the alarm over what she described as a growing wave of foreign-backed efforts aimed at destabilising liberation movements across Southern Africa. Speaking at the 2025 Liberation Movement Summit held in South Africa, the newly elected leader warned that opposition parties in the region were increasingly being targeted by external forces seeking to drive a “regime change” agenda.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah accused these foreign interests of exploiting youth movements and civil society organisations to erode the authority of long-standing ruling parties born out of anti-colonial liberation struggles. Citing the recent electoral setbacks of liberation parties in Botswana and South Africa, she said the trend served as a wake-up call for historic ruling parties in the region.

“The time has come for liberation movements to consolidate, adapt and renew their social contracts with the people,” she declared. “External influences are not merely ideologically opposed to us—they are strategically investing in our fragmentation.”

Nandi-Ndaitwah made history in 2024 as Namibia’s first female president, but her party, SWAPO, secured just 57% of the vote—its narrowest margin since independence. The result highlighted growing voter disillusionment, especially among younger citizens who feel disconnected from the liberation-era narratives that once united the country.

In her address, the President reaffirmed her party’s commitment to advancing the unfinished promises of independence. “We must ensure our revolutionary legacies translate into inclusive development, opportunity, and dignity for all our people,” she said. “Liberation must not be symbolic; it must be lived.”

She also pledged stronger collaboration between SWAPO and other liberation-aligned governments in the region, including South Africa’s ANC and Mozambique’s FRELIMO, to protect their political relevance in a rapidly changing global and domestic landscape.

The summit, which brought together leaders and representatives of Southern Africa’s liberation movements, focused on strategies to modernise governance, tackle economic challenges, and resist foreign interference while remaining rooted in the values that shaped the struggle for freedom.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s remarks underscore the delicate balance these ruling parties now face: honouring their historic legacies while responding to present-day demands for transparency, economic reform, and inclusive governance.