The following lists events that happened during

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

in Namibia.

Incumbents

* President:

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

* Prime Minister: Nahas Angula * Chief Justice:

Peter Shivute Peter Sam Shivute (born 25 September 1963) is a Namibian judge who is currently serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Namibia since 1 December 2004. He is the first black Namibian to be appointed to this position. Early life and ...

Environment

Serious flooding took place in northern Namibia in February and March 2008, with at least 42 dead and 65,000 displaced.

Politics

The ruling party,

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

, and the new opposition party, Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) contested the first town council election in Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region. On 24 April, a rally of 200 took place in Windhoek against the porting of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

ship the '' An Yue Jiang'' at Walvis Bay. In May 2008, Ignatius Shixwameni, a former SWAPO and Congress of Democrats (CoD) member, who split from CoD in December 2007, forms the All People's Party. In June 2008, the Democratic Party of Namibia was formed in ǁKaras Region. Though the CoD's

Ben Ulenga Benjamin Ulenga (born Benjamin Uulenga Uulenga on June 22, 1952

criticized the party and others as "tribal", the DPN rejected the sentiment.

Economics

Labour

The 2008 Skorpion Zinc Strike was a worker's strike against the ownership of the

Skorpion Zinc Skorpion Zinc is a zinc mine in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, producing Special High Grade (SHG) zinc. The mine is situated near Rosh Pinah. It was established at a cost of US$450 million by Anglo American in 2003. It is the tenth-larg ...

mine near the southern town of

Rosh Pinah Rosh Pinah is a mining town located in southern Namibia, close to the border with South Africa. It is situated south of Keetmanshoop in Namibia's ǁKaras Region. West of the town lies Sperrgebiet, Diamond Area 1, the main diamond mining area of ...

in ǁKaras Region. Lasting 19 days (10–29 May), the workers ended their strike when management agreed to a 12% raise in wages plus overtime and travel expenses. The workers had originally demanded a 14% raise in wages.Namibia govt seeks to resolve Skorpion Zinc strike
in Mining Weekly, 27 May 2008 The strike was supported by the National Union of Mineworkers, who accused Skorpion Zinc of practising racial discrimination and of negotiating in bad faith.

Entertainment

Marelize Robberts (born 1987), was crowned Miss Namibia 2008.

Sport

Football (soccer)

The national men's football team began 2008 in the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederat ...

. After losing 1–5 to Morocco in their opening match, Namibia lost 0–1 to host Ghana and tied 1–1 with

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

, finishing in last place in their group. Following the Africa Cup of Nations, Namibia lost 1–3 to Malawi in Windhoek on 26 March. In July, Namibia dropped 15 spots in the FIFA rankings to 146th.

World Cup qualifying

Namibia was drawn into group 2 of the CAF first group round, alongside Kenya,

and Zimbabwe. On 31 May, Namibia kicked off qualifiers at

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

against Kenya, defeating them on an 89th-minute goal by

Costa Khaiseb Costa Khaiseb (born November 23, 1980 in Windhoek) is a Namibian football striker and part of the Namibia national football team. He played for Namibian club Ramblers from 2002–2006, for Black Leopards in 06-07 season and came back to Ramble ...

. The Brave Warriors then traveled to Harare on 8 June, losing 0–2. Travelling back to Windhoek to face Guinea on 14 June, the Brave Warriors lost 1–2 on a 45th minute go-ahead goal by Pascal Feindouno. Playin in

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

on 22 June, Namibia lost again, this time 0–4. After a two-month break, The Brave Warriors went to Nairobi on 5 September. The squad lost on a 44th-minute penalty kick by Kenyan Jamal Mohammed. The last match in the first round was back in Windhoek at Sam Nujoma Stadium against neighbor Zimbabwe on 11 October. The squad jumped to a 4–0 lead before holding onto a 4–2 win, which included two goals by

Wilko Risser Wilko Rudi Risser (born 11 August 1982, in Windhoek) is a Namibian-German footballer who plays for Chippa United in the South African Premier Soccer League. Club career Wilko Risser began his career with Ramblers Windhoek to kick-start his foo ...

. However, the match was meaningless for the Brave Warriors, as they had been eliminated from World Cup competition and finished in last place in the group of 4.

COSAFA Cup

The 2008 Cosafa Cup was held in South Africa. The Namibian side won their group, group B, with a record of 2–0–1. In the quarterfinals, Namibia lost 0–1 to the South Africa Development XI team.

Boxing

The

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

hosted the

2nd AIBA African 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2nd AIBA African Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held from 24 March to 29 March 2008 in Windhoek, Namibia. It was held at the Gymnasium Hall of the University of Namibia. Qualifying 28 teams participated in this tournament: Compe ...

from 20–30 March. At that tournament, the final round of qualifiers for

boxing at the 2008 Summer Olympics The boxing program of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China was held at the Workers Indoor Arena. Medals were awarded in eleven events, with each event corresponding to a recognized weight division of male boxers. The 2008 games were the l ...

for Africa were determined.

Olympics

Deaths

* 16 January,

Munjuku Nguvauva II Munjuku Nguvauva II (January 1, 1923 – January 16, 2008) was a Namibian traditional paramount chief and leader of the Ovambanderu people, a subtribe of the Herero people, Herero. Nguvauva was also deputy chief of Namibia's Traditional Leaders Co ...

, 85, traditional paramount chief and leader of the

Ovambanderu The Mbanderu (''Ovambanderu'') are a population inhabiting eastern parts of Namibia and western parts of Botswana. They speak Herero language, Mbanderu (''Otjimbanderu)'' a Bantu language History and Culture Etymology While earlier theories of ...

and

communities. * 13 March, Kalla Gertze, 48, Congress of Democrats parliamentarian (13 March) * 14 March,

John Pandeni John Alphons Pandeni (30 July 1950 – 14 March 2008) was a Namibian politician and trade unionist. A member of SWAPO, Pandeni was Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development at the time of his death in 2008. Early l ...

, 57, government minister * 25 March, Nico Bessinger, former government minister * 27 June, Chris Hatutale Hawala, 24, vice-president of the Namibian National Student Organization * 13 July,

John Mabuku John Mabuku (died July 13, 2008) was the governor of Caprivi Region in Namibia and secessionist supporter of an independent Caprivi Strip. Mabuku, a former Democratic Turnhalle Alliance National Council member, fled to exile in Botswana with former ...

, former DTA National Councillor and secession leader in the Caprivi conflictMabuku dies in exile
'' The Namibian'', 16 July 2008 * 14 July, Gabes Shihepo, 53, former deputy minister * 5 August, Hannes Smith, 75, former reporter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 In Namibia Namibia 2000s in Namibia Years of the 21st century in Namibia Namibia