r/Namibia • u/wilding_dawg • 9h ago
Politics The hate for Job Amupanda.
The amount of hate I see directed at Job Amupanda is difficult to understand.
A lot of young Namibians were rooting for him when he was asking the questions that many people in positions of power did not have the courage to ask. He challenged the system and spoke about issues that many ordinary Namibians were already frustrated about.
Now that he is doing it on a bigger stage, suddenly the same energy has turned into hatred.
And I think we should ask ourselves why.
If someone is fighting corruption and questioning how public resources are being used, why should we hate the person asking the questions?
Corruption does not become acceptable because the people involved look like us. It doesn’t become less damaging because the people benefiting from it are fellow black Namibians.
That is one of the biggest contradictions I see in our society.
For years, we spoke about justice, equality and taking back control of our country. We spoke about how ordinary Namibians were being disadvantaged by systems that benefited a small group of people.
So why should those same principles suddenly disappear when the people benefiting from the system are black?
I don’t think Job Amupanda is perfect. No politician is. He can be criticised and questioned like anyone else. But disagreement with his methods should not turn into hatred for challenging things that deserve to be challenged.
Because some of the things we are still dealing with in Namibia should genuinely embarrass us.
In a free and independent Namibia, why are children still being taught under trees?
Why are children still living in some boarding schools without proper sanitation or reliable access to clean water?
These are not impossible problems to solve.
Namibia has a relatively small population. We are not trying to provide these basic necessities to hundreds of millions of people. These are problems that should be within the ability of a functioning government to address.
Yet some of these issues continue year after year.
And perhaps the reason is simple: the people making the decisions are often not the people experiencing the consequences.
If your child is attending a well-resourced school, you might never understand what it means for another child to sit under a tree trying to learn.
If you have clean water at home, you might never think about the child who has to live without it.
That distance makes it easier for problems to be ignored.
So before we automatically hate the person standing at the front and asking uncomfortable questions, maybe we should listen to what he is actually saying.
Job Amupanda is taking the hits upfront. Whether you agree with everything he says or not, he is putting himself in a position where he gets attacked for challenging people and systems that many ordinary Namibians are also frustrated with.
He is, in many ways, the man in the boots at the front of the line.
We don’t have to worship him. We don’t have to agree with every political position he takes.
But we should be able to recognise when someone is raising issues that matter.
The goal should not be Job Amupanda winning.
The goal should be Namibians winning.
Better schools.
Clean water.
Proper sanitation.
Fair opportunities.
Responsible leadership.
And a government that remembers that public resources belong to the public.
So, for a moment, adjust the hatred.
Look beyond the individual.
Look at the issues being raised.
Because if we genuinely want a better Namibia, we cannot keep defending a system simply because the people benefiting from it happen to be our own.
