Coincidences Too Big to Swallow

Yoh Namibia, This Pattern Is Too Much

Look here my people, we all see it. Every time someone sits in State House, things start moving like magic. Tenders dropping. Big money deals. Companies popping up. Policies shifting. And we must act blind? Aii, come on.

When president daughter bags a government deal, they say: "she is adult, she can hustle." When president son registers an oil company the same time oil and gas game is changing, they say: "just coincidence." When that same president wants to pull oil and gas control into her own office, we must say nothing?

Nah bra. Not everyone is sleeping.

This is not hate. If you hustle, hustle. Katutura boys and Khomasdal girls hustle every day. Small jobs, small businesses, selling at the taxi rank, doing whatever to survive. Nobody is blocking that.

But when hustle sits too close to power, questions must come. Because patterns don't lie.

Remember the Pohamba Days? Same Vibes

Back in 2014, Kaupumhote Pohamba, daughter of former president Hifikepunye Pohamba, got a N$16.4 million housing contract through her company, Kata Investment. And it wasn't small stuff. Kata also scored a N$100 million road rehab deal.

Now tell me, in a country where ordinary business people struggle to even get paperwork approved, how president child suddenly handling big infrastructure money? People asked questions. Not because they hate, but because it looked funny.

State House answer? Same old story: president didn't interfere, she is adult, she can do business. Presidential Affairs Minister Albert Kawana backed it up.

Fine. Legally maybe okay. But optics? Bruh.

When other political kids also bag tenders around the same time, you start thinking: is talent only born in political families? Or is access doing the heavy lifting?

People from Katutura and Khomasdal know struggle. They know nothing comes easy. So when easy money shows up near power, questions will come. That is normal.

Fast Forward to Now — Déjà Vu All Over

Now we in 2026. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in office. Soon reports say her son and friends registered an oil and gas company. Same time government moves to restructure oil and gas control.

Coincidence? Maybe. But Namibia seen too many coincidences.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah has responded directly. On 3 February 2026, she stated categorically: "My children have no interests, direct or indirect, in the oil and gas sector." She emphasized they have the right to do business "like any Namibian citizen."

But here's where questions persist. The president's first gentleman has also defended the new structure, arguing it actually prevents corruption by placing oversight at the highest level. Environment minister Indileni Daniel backs this position, stating the move is "not unconstitutional" because oil is a "strategic national resource" requiring "oversight of the highest executive level."

So we hear no family interest, yet power shifts closer to the family office. Licensing, oversight, big decisions, all moving to the President's grip. Aii, you see why people raise eyebrows?

It's like saying you not eating cake while crumbs on your mouth.

And then came 2 February 2026. Journalist Jemima Beukes was escorted out of State House by security, for simply attempting to ask the president about her family's alleged oil interests. The president redirected her to the Cabinet secretary instead of answering.

So when questions come, people get removed? That doesn't silence concerns. It amplifies them.

Red Flags Flying Like Windhoek Wind

Opposition voices shouting. McHenry Venaani said the law basically turns President into super-minister. Panduleni Itula warned it increases risk of political favouritism and messy court fights.

But Bernadus Swartbooi brought the sharpest constitutional critique. He pointed out that once the President makes a decision under this new structure, she becomes functus officio, unable to review her own decision. Everything must go to court. And who reports to parliament on the oil unit? No line minister controls it anymore. So parliamentary oversight becomes blurry, maybe even useless.

Add immunity on top. Constitution already protects President from prosecution while in office. Proposed changes extend shields to appointees in oil and gas space.

So we get big power, small accountability. That recipe never ends well.

After the Fishrot scandal mess, we should know better. Systems must be strong. Checks must exist. Otherwise temptation grows like weeds.

But here we are again, arguing about concentration of power.

"Like Any Namibian Citizen" — Sounds Nice, But Reality Different

Yes, presidential kids have rights. Nobody disputing that.

But let's be real: they not hustling like the guy selling airtime at the taxi rank or the lady running small salon in Khomasdal. They move in circles with information and access ordinary people don't have.

That doesn't make them criminals. It means the playing field is not equal.

Repeating "they are like any other Namibian" doesn't erase structural reality.

When political families keep showing up in big deals, questions are normal. Not accusations...questions. Healthy societies answer questions. They don't shout people down. And they definitely don't remove journalists who ask.

If everything always clean, if every tender perfect, if every coincidence pure luck, then Namibia must be the luckiest country on earth.

Or we avoiding truths.

Fishrot Taught Us Lessons — Don't Forget

Fishrot showed how systems break when oversight weak. Billions vanished. Public trust died. Careers finished.

Lesson one: power needs checks.
Lesson two: transparency matters.
Lesson three: immunity and secrecy dangerous when abused.

Proposed reforms risk going opposite direction, centralising power and expanding shields. That does not stop corruption. It hides it.

Katutura and Khomasdal people understand this. When systems weak, ordinary citizens suffer.

We deserve institutions that work even when leaders human (because they are). No system should rely on blind trust.

Street Wisdom

There is saying on the corners: not everyone is dumb.

People watch. They compare notes. They remember history.

When presidential kids appear in lucrative deals, it is fair to ask why. When strategic sectors move closer to executive control, it is fair to worry. When journalists get walked out for asking, it is fair to be alarmed.

Questions are not disloyal. They are patriotic.

Good governance survives scrutiny. Bad governance hides from it.

What Real Transparency Looks Like

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has put forward a concrete solution: Namibia should join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

EITI would require public disclosure of beneficial ownership, meaning we would know exactly who owns every oil and gas company operating in Namibia. No hidden faces. No proxies. No "friends" registering while powerful relatives stay invisible.

It would also require all contracts to be published. Every deal open. Every term visible.

That's how you end suspicion. That's how you prove "no interests, direct or indirect." Not through statements. Through systems.

Straight Talk

Look Namibia, we want progress. We want investment. We want oil and gas to benefit ordinary people, not just connected circles.

But progress cannot come with shortcuts. It cannot repeat old patterns. It cannot dismiss concerns every time they surface. It cannot remove journalists for asking.

Presidential families can do business, sure. But transparency must be full. No hidden deals. No advantages from proximity to power.

Government must design systems that reduce conflicts, not create new ones. Join EITI. Publish contracts. Disclose ownership.

Transferring valuable sectors into offices already holding big influence while family members enter those sectors is bad optics and risky governance. Adding immunity on top makes it worse.

People from Katutura and Khomasdal understand fairness. They know when something smells off.

So don't tell them they are dumb. Don't remove journalists who ask on their behalf.

Because they are not dumb.

They are watching.

And they will speak.