Maxie Meliza Minnaar (died 10 August 2020) was a Namibian politician. She served as the regional councillor for

Keetmanshoop Urban Keetmanshoop Urban is a constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It comprises the city of Keetmanshoop, except the Krönlein suburb. It had a population of 19,447 in 2011, up from 15,777 in 2001. the constituency had 12,569 registered vot ...

in the

ǁKaras Region The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain rang ...

from January 2020 until her death in August 2020. She was a member of the

Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement was an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a history ...

party and the party's first regional councillor.

Political career

Minnaar was a member of the ruling

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 worked for the

before joining the

. She was the leader of the party's women command and a member of the party's political action committee. In 2019, incumbent SWAPO regional councillor for

Hilma Nicanor Hilma Ndinelago Nicanor (born 3 May 1956 in Oshana Region) is a Namibian politician and woman activist. At the age of 18 she joined Swapo and its military wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) to contribute to the fight for Namib ...

, resigned to contest a parliamentary seat in that year's

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. A by-election was promptly called for and Minnaar was fielded as the LPM's candidate. She campaigned on building a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in the region, if elected. Minnaar won the by-election on 15 January 2020 and consequently became the LPM's first regional councillor. She was sworn in on 17 January.

Death

Minnaar died on 10 August 2020 at the Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in the capital

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

. She was 47 years old and is survived by her parents and son. Various politicians paid tribute to Minnaar, including LPM national leader

Bernadus Swartbooi Bernadus Clinton Swartbooi (born 11 October 1977) is a Namibian politician. Swartbooi was a Governor of the ǁKaras Region before being appointed as Namibia's deputy minister of lands and resettlement in 2015 by President Hage Geingob, a positi ...

, who called her a "modern-day female revolutionary". Since regional elections are set to be held in November, the

Electoral Commission of Namibia The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is an agency of the Government of Namibia. It was founded in 1992 under the Electoral Act 24 of 1992. The aim of the commission is to oversee all Namibian electoral activities starting from voter registra ...

opted to keep the councillor position vacant until the election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnaar, Maxie 2020 deaths Landless People's Movement (Namibia) politicians People from Keetmanshoop Namibian politicians 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians