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Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in
Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Ge ...
, 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 ...
, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of
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 202 ...
on the B1 road. It was founded around 1800, by two local groups, the
Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though t ...
and the Nama.


History

Okahandja means ''the place where two rivers'' (Okakango and Okamita) ''flow into each other to form one wide one'' in
Otjiherero Herero (, ''Otjiherero'') is a Bantu language spoken by the Herero and Mbanderu peoples in Namibia and Botswana, as well as by small communities of people in southwestern Angola. There were 211,700 speakers in 2014. Distribution Its linguisti ...
. A
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
pastor, Heinrich Schmelen, became the first European to visit the town in 1827. In 1844, two missionaries were permanently assigned to the town, Heinrich Kleinschmidt and
Hugo Hahn Carl Hugo Hahn (1818–1895) was a Baltic German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life. Together with Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, he set up the first Rhenish mission station to the Herero ...
. A church dates from this period. A military post was established at the initiative of
Theodor Leutwein Theodor Gotthilf Leutwein (9 May 1849 – 13 April 1921) was colonial administrator of German Southwest Africa from 1894 to 1904 (as commander of its Schutztruppe, and from 1898, governor). Life and career Born in Strümpfelbrunn in the ...
in 1894, and it is this date that is officially recognized as the town's founding.Okahandja History
Okahandja.net, last accessed on 4 October 2017
A number of important historic Namibian people are buried in Okahandja, among them Maharero,
Jan Jonker Afrikaner Jan Jonker Afrikaner (c. 1820 in Bethanie, South West Africa – 10 August 1889 near Tsoabis, South West Africa) was the second oldest son of Jonker Afrikaner and Beetje Boois. He became the sixth and last Captain of the Orlam Afrikaners in S ...
, Hosea Kutako and
Clemens Kapuuo Clemens Kapuuo (16 March 1923 – 27 March 1978) was a Namibian school teacher, shopkeeper, president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now called Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), and chief of the Herero people of Namibia. Kapuuo w ...
.


Economy

The population of Okahandja is growing rapidly. It stood at just over 14,000 as measured by the 2001 Population and Housing Census, and is estimated to have surpassed 24,000 in 2012. Von Bach Dam is situated outside of Okahandja. It provides the majority of
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 202 ...
's water. An open-air curio market attracts tourists, and the town serves as the administrative centre for the
Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, t ...
.


Transport

Okahandja Railway Station, situated on the
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 202 ...
Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
line, was built in 1902 during Imperial Germany's colonial rule of
German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
. Today it belongs to the Trans-Namib railway network.


Education

In the 1870s Rhenish missionaries established the first school. The Augustineum School was reopened at Okahandja on 9 November 1905; it was later moved to
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 202 ...
. Okahandja has six primary schools and two high schools. Namwater Vocational, situated outside the main town, is the only institute of higher education in Okahandja. The National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) is today situated in Okahandja. NIED was created after independence as the institute from where a new national system of education was created, replacing the previous racist system of apartheid. Previously the German school Regierungsschule Okahandja was in the city.


Politics

Okahandja is governed by a municipal council that has seven seats. In the 2010 local authority election in Okahandja,
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 ...
won with approximately 62% of the vote. Of the five other parties seeking votes in the election, Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) received approximately 13% of the vote, followed by the United Democratic Front (UDF, 8%), the United People's Movement (UPM, 7%), National Unity Democratic Organization (NUDO, 6%) and
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic ...
(DTA, 2%). The 2015 local authority election was again won by SWAPO which gained five seats and 2,572 votes. One seat each went to the DTA and the UDF with 236 and 213 votes, respectively. SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election but lost its absolute majority in the municipal council. It obtained 1,865 votes and gained three seats. One seat each went to the
Independent Patriots for Change The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) is a political party in Namibia. It was founded by Panduleni Itula in August 2020. As an independent presidential candidate in the November 2019 election, Itula won the best result of a losing candid ...
(IPC, an opposition party formed in August 2020, 654 votes), the local Okahandja Rate Payers' Association (ORPA, 574 votes), 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 histor ...
(LPM, an opposition party formed in 2016, 377 votes), and the UDF (290 votes).


Sport

Okahandja offers the following sports codes; Soccer, Netball, Basketball, Tennis, Horse Raising, Dancing, Running, Gym, Spin & Drifting, Radio Helicopters... The oldest Soccer Club in town is known as Spoilers Sports Club that was founded in 1963 and managed over the years by "Ou Boss" Reinhardt Maletzky. In the 1970s, Okahandja Soccer Club had a competitive football team that won several competitions. In addition, local club Liverpool Okahandja were
NFA-Cup The Namibia FA Cup ('' Namibia Football Association Cup''), officially Bidvest Namibia Cup, is an association football tournament for Namibian club Previous Champions *1990: Black Africa F.C. (Windhoek) *1991: Chief Santos (Tsumeb) *1992: Liverp ...
winners in 1992 and
Namibia Premier League The Namibia Premier League (NPL), also known as Debmarine Namibia Premiership is the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia. The league was established in 1990 and was trimmed to 12 teams from the traditional 16 in 2005. It was ...
champions in 2002. Other local teams were Magic Tigers, Battle Boys, Teenagers, Golden Arrows...


See also

*
Vyf Rand Vyf Rand is an informal settlement outside of Okahandja, located north of Windhoek in the Okahandja constituency of the Otjozondjupa region of Namibia. "Vyf rand" is an Afrikaans phrase that translates to "five rand". The name originates from ...


References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Otjozondjupa Region Populated places established in 1894 1894 establishments in German South West Africa Otjiherero words and phrases Rhenish mission stations in Hereroland Cities in Namibia