The Rehoboth area, historically the Free Republic of Rehoboth (

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 **Ger ...

: ''Freie Republik Rehoboth'') is an

unrecognized state A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...

in 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 ...

, inhabited by the indigenous

Baster The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from white European men and black African women, usually of Khoisan origin, but occasionally also enslaved women from the Cape, ...

people. Between 1979 and 1989, the area was a

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

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 N ...

. Regions of Namibia Regions of Africa

Background

The first provisions for establishing a Rehoboth government were made on 15 December 1868, in Warmbad,

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 ...

. The state constitution of the Rehoboth area was based on the initial constitution of 31 January 1872. The original constitution was amended on 1 January 1874. On 15 September 1885, through the 'Treaty of Protection and Friendship Between the German Empire and the Basters of Rehoboth of 1885', the independence of the Rehoboth Basters was first recognised. The Rehoboth Basters are not recognised as a traditional ethnic community of Namibia, unlike other ethnic groups. From February 2007 to December 2019, the Rehoboth Basters were members of the

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, or simply UNPO is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalised nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 in The Ha ...

(UNPO).

Geography

Rehoboth area includes the Rehoboth Homeland bantustan which existed until 1989. It is 14,216 square kilometres in area, and has a population of around 35,000. The capital is Rehoboth.

Politics

On 20 March 1990, the representatives of the Rehoboth Baster, the Captain-led Baster Council (''Basterrat'') declared independence from

. A day later,

became independent from

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

. The government is formed by the Captains Council (''Kapteinsraad''), which is headed currently by Captain

Jacky Britz Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters named Jackie or Jacky ** Jackie, current ring name of female professional wrestler Jacqueline Moore ** Jackie Lee ( ...

, who was elected as leader in April 2021, defeating Rynault van Wyk. This election result, however, is currently disputed in the Windhoek High Court by van Wyk. Nationally, the Rehoboth Baster are represented by the United People's Movement.

References

{{Reflist Geography of Namibia Proposed administrative territorial entities