Peaceful Assembly
The country has seen several protests and strike actions:
In February 2023, at least 500 City of Windhoek ward contractors embarked on a demonstration to demand better working conditions. Among other demands, the workers are seeking permanent employment terms, as many have been working on a contract basis for decades. The City of Windhoek refused to recognise the strike or accept a petition, calling both illegal. The workers wanted to hand over a petition to the City, but it was not accepted on the basis that the City had no prior knowledge of the strike. On 1st March, a group of contractors took to the streets again and handed over a petition to the City demanding better medical care benefits on the grounds that their work exposes them to health risks.
On 3rd March 2023, the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters led a protest action to demand the closure of a town service station in Rundu for its bad treatment of employees. The protest came after a leaked video circulated showing employees of Rundu Total Service Station being whipped by the station owner in exchange for loans. A day after the protest, it was reported that the station owner and other implicated employees took a fourteen-day suspension to allow for investigations.
On 21st March 2023, prominent activists and politicians were arrested in Windhoek’s Katutura suburb in connection with a planned protest march to spotlight youth unemployment on the occasion of Namibia’s 33rd Independence Day celebration. A few days earlier, on 17th March 2023, the police had warned the protest organisers to move the planned protest to another date, citing “national security interests”.
Separately, the Namibia Teachers Union and the Namibia Public Workers Union spearheaded negotiations with the government over proposed salary and other benefit increases for civil servants after they submitted their proposals to the Prime Minister on 20th February 2023.
On 8th March 2023, in commemoration of International Women’s Day, Namibian Gender activists organised a gathering at Zoo Park in Windhoek to hold a march to advocate for effective protection for everyone and for gender neutral language in the Combatting Domestic Violence Act 6 of 2022. A petition was also submitted to the relevant Ministry in Zambia. As it stands, the Act fails to address the exclusion of same-sex couples. The Act is worded as only covering people of “different sexes” who are cohabitating or in a relationship.
BREAKING:Supreme Court of Namibia has recognized same-sex marriages concluded in jurisdictions abroad, affording Queer Namibians the exact same rights as heterosexual Namibians & their foreign-born spouses. Equality, the promise our liberators fought for, prevails🏳️🌈🇳🇦🏳️⚧️
— Namibia Equal Rights Movement (@EqualNamibia) May 16, 2023
Association
Namibian Court Recognises Foreign Same-Sex Marriages
In May 2023, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment recognising same-sex marriages concluded abroad between citizens and foreign spouses. This judgment overturned a previous decision by the High Court, which declined to compel the Ministry of Home Affairs and immigration to recognise the marriages of two same-sex couples who had married outside the country, after the Ministry refused to grant permits to their same-sex foreign spouses. Namibia became the second African country to recognise same-sex marriages after South Africa.