Andrew Niikondo (born 15 January 1962) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n academic. He is the pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the

Namibia University of Science and Technology The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding ...

and the chairperson of the think tank of

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 ...

Education and early life

Niikondo was born on 15 January 1962 in Onantsi near

Ondangwa Ondangwa (earlier spelling ''Ondangua'') is a town in the Oshana Region of northern Namibia, bordering the Oshikoto Region. Ondangwa was first established as a mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society (the FMS) in 1890. In 1914, it became ...

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. The term originally referred to the parts of ...

, today Namibia's

Oshana Region Oshana is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Oshakati. The towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa, all situated with this region, form an urban cluster with the second largest population concentration in Namibia after the ...

. He quit school at the age of 17 in order to join the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the Sout ...

(PLAN). He went into

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n exile and was trained at

Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola af ...

. He became an officer of the artillery for PLAN under

Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah Lieutenant General Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah (born 13 December 1952) is a Namibian diplomat and military commander. He was the chief of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) from 24 January 2011 to 31 December 2013. Born in Ohangwena Region, Ndaitwah joi ...

and only returned to Namibia a decade later. In 2018 Niikondo published a book, ''Are you a Person or a Ghost?'', detailing his experiences in exile. The title refers to his mother's exclamation at his return, not having heard of him in ten years. Speaking at the book launch and remarking on Niikondo's later academic career, Ndaitwah quipped that he was the only LANcommander to have groomed a doctor.

Academic career

Niikondo only continued his formal schooling after

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First W ...

and obtained his

matric Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

through distance education in 1992. He was 30 at that time. He obtained a first academic degree (a National Diploma) in Public Administration in 1995 from 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 ...

. He then graduated with a

B.Tech A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of stud ...

from Technikon South Africa in 1999 and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, again in Public Administration, from the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

and the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. In 2008 he obtained a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Namibia. Niikondo worked as a part-time lecturer from 2002, and joined the Polytechnic of Namibia (now the

) in 2003. After serving as head of the Public Administration department and as deputy dean of the School of Business and Management he became vice-rector of academic affairs and research in 2011. Niikondo had a difficult time as vice rector. The Polytechnic's founding rector

Tjama Tjivikua Tjama Tjivikua (born 27 July 1958) is a Namibian academic and businessman. He was the Rector of the ''Polytechnic of Namibia'' in Windhoek since its inception in 1995. When the institution was renamed into Namibia University of Science and Techno ...

repeatedly accused him of incompetence, while Niikondo opened

grievance A grievance () is a wrong or hardship suffered, real or supposed, which forms legitimate grounds of complaint. In the past, the word meant the infliction or cause of hardship. See also * Complaint system A complaint system (also known as a co ...

procedures against Tjivikua for "harassment, victimisation and discrimination". Plans to split the research portfolio from academic affairs, thereby creating a third vice-rector position, were seen as an attempt to demote Niikondo. With the institution's

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

divided on the issue, Niikondo retained his position as vice rector, and when the Polytechnic became a university he assumed office as academic deputy vice-chancellor of the institution. In May 2020 he became acting vice-chancellor, replacing Morné du Toit. He served until the end of 2020, handing over to Erold Naomab.

Political career

Niikondo is a long-term member of

and was appointed chairperson of it think tank in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niikondo, Andrew 1962 births Living people People from Oshana Region People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel University of Namibia alumni University of the Western Cape alumni Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of the Namibia University of Science and Technology