Martin Luther High School (MLH) is a boarding school in the village of

Okombahe Okombahe is a settlement in the Erongo Region of eastern central Namibia, situated on the Omaruru River north of Karibib. It is regarded as the capital of the ǂNûkhoen ( Damara) tribe; the annual King's Festival is held at the town's ''Gaob M ...

in the

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as w ...

of central

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 ...

, named after German church reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. The school 250 pupils in grades 8 to 12, and twelve teachers. There are different accounts on when and where the school was established. According to

Klaus Dierks Karl Otto Ludwig Klaus DierksJoe Pütz, Heidi von Egidy, Perri Caplan: ''Political Who's Who of Namibia''. Magus, Windhoek 1989, Namibia series Vol. 1, ISBN 0-620-10225-X, pp. 203, 204 (19 February 1936 – 17 March 2005) was a German-born Nam ...

, Martin Luther High was opened in 1968 at the initiative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South West Africa. Originally planned for the nearby town of

Karibib , nickname = , settlement_type = Town , motto = , image_skyline =Karibib aerial view.jpg , imagesize =300 , image_caption =Karibib aerial view 2017 , image_flag = , ...

, the South African administration did not approve the establishment of a school for black children in the white-only town. Instead, a place had to be found where white teachers and black pupils could live segregated, and the school was opened in Okombahe at the edge of the Damaraland

bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now ...

. According to the national newspaper ''

The Namibian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', the school was established in 1962 in Karibib and moved to Okombahe in 1970, again for the reason that the school admitted black learners, and Karibib was a white-only town. The school's medium of instruction during the years of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n occupation was English, while other government schools taught in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

. The school has fallen into disrepair and launched a campaign in 2014 to have its basic amenities repaired. In 2015 the school had sufficient money collected to start its first renovation since 1970.

Notable teachers and alumni

Tangeni Amupadhi Tangeni Amupadhi is a Namibian journalist. He is the Editor-in-chief of ''The Namibian'', Namibia's largest English daily newspaper. In 2011 he took over from founding and long-serving editor Gwen Lister, who has been in the position for 26 year ...

, editor of ''The Namibian'' *

Albertus Aochamub Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his lif ...

, press secretary in the Office of the President *

Max Hamata Max Shali Nghilifa Hamata (born in the Katutura suburb of Windhoek) is a controversial Namibian journalist and muckraker. He is the editor of ''The Confidente ''The Confidente'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper in Namibia. It was established by Ma ...

, editor of ''

The Confidente ''The Confidente'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper in Namibia. It was established by Max Hamata in 2011 as a weekly newspaper. It publishes in English. References External links ''The Confidente''- official website 2011 establishments in Nami ...

'' *

Joshua ǁHoebeb Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

, one of the first teachers at the school, today Governor of

Kunene Region Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo, its governor is Marius Sheya. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Besides the capital Opuwo, the region contains the ...

Alpheus ǃNaruseb Alpheus ǀGou-ǃna ǃNaruseb (born 20 March 1954) is a Namibian politician who has served in the cabinet of Namibia in various portfolios. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), !Naruseb has served in the cabinet since 1 ...

, Minister of Lands and Resettlement *

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 ...

, Deputy Minister for Veteran Affairs, graduated 1974

References

{{coord missing, Namibia 1960s establishments in South West Africa Schools in Erongo Region

Notable teachers and alumni

See also

References