Irivari, an aspiring businessman

LUCAS Tsamseb, also known as Irivari, rose to fame when Namibians started sharing videos of him on social media. His age could not be determined as he has no national documents. However, according to a dental report provided to social workers from the gender equality ministry through the ministry of health, Tsamseb is between 17 and 21 years of age.

The report was compiled by a dentist who examined his teeth to get an age estimate. His story is that of a broken family.

A few months ago, Tsamseb roamed the streets of Oshivelo, which sparked the recording of videos of him abusing alcohol as well as smoking cigarettes that went viral on social media.

The government, through the gender equality ministry came to his aid and assigned him a social worker who has since enrolled him at Ondera Primary School in the Oshikoto region.

Good Samaritans contributed to his school uniform, but his needs are greater. Tsamseb has been placed in the care of his aunt, her husband and his four siblings. Both the guardians are unemployed.

As arrived at the school, just a few minutes before breaktime, Tsamseb had comfortably taken up his place in a Grade 1 class of 27 pupils. The school has an enrolment of 164 pupils from Grades 0 to 6.

I greet the class. The pupils respond. I spot Tsamseb who is seated quietly among his classmates. I walk to him and loudly say ‘Hello Irivari’.

His teacher Lena Nakatana quickly admonished me for calling him Irivari.

“Tuyeimo, we are trying to rehabilitate him and that name must go. His name is Lucas,” she said. I nod in agreement to her warning and I introduce myself to Tsamseb and the purpose of my visit. He prefers I speak to him in Oshiwambo.

Tsamseb tells me he is the third of four siblings. His unemployed mother lives at Oshivelo. His father lives at a nearby farm. He told this reporter that he last saw his father when he was very young as he would visit his mother. He unfortunately cannot remember the last time he saw him. was unable to trace both parents.

At some point, Tsamseb was a school going pupil but only up to Grade 2. He cannot remember the years because of his lack of literacy.

“I used to attend Uukumwe Combined School at Oshivelo up to Grade 2. I cannot remember which year. At the time I was living with my mother.

He continues: “I left school because there was no money and no food, so I had to zula (sic). I started surviving on selling sand-filled bottles. I collected bottles from the dumping site near the army base. I would collect about 10 in a day, then fill them with sand of different types to create beautiful patterns”.

Tsamseb said he would collect the white sand close to the road, the red sand from any builders’ site and he used crushed charcoal from nearby farms to create the clour black. He then sold the bottles for N$10 to people coming to the service station at Oshivelo.

“That was a seasonal business so it was not sustainable when it rained as the sand would be wet. I moved onto selling maize, and tomatoes. I would collect the maize and sell the cobs for N$10 each. One sack would give me at least N$350 which I shared with my mother and siblings,” he said.

When I asked him if he was aware of his popularity in Namibia and that videos of him are being shared even on YouTube, he asked: “What is YouTube?” I attempt to explain. He tells me that he has noticed that passers-by have suddenly taken a keen interest in filming him. This, he said, he saw as another business opportunity.

“I am not happy when people take videos of me without my permission, because they do not even pay for it. I charge N$100 for every recording,” Tsamseb said in an annoyed tone.

We are having our interview outside the classroom for privacy.

He explains how he has suffered discrimination numerous times, and his height does not help either.

Tsamseb said he is happy to get a chance to be in school again, but this, he says, comes at the expense of getting no income. A greater shift in his lifestyle. At their house, four of them share one blanket while his sister sleeps on the floor alone, away from the boys.

He has no proper clothes and most of them are torn. His school uniform is his biggest asset for now.

“I am grateful that I am given a chance to be in school. I, however still need help as there is no food at home. I have no shoes except the school ones,” he said.

His teacher Nakatana joins us. She heard me asking if Tsamseb plans to complete the year at the school.

“Even if he leaves school one day, he will know how to write his name. Of course it’s a challenge to integrate him into the school system from the street. He is very disciplined, although sometimes he is bossy, but we are managing,” she said, while sitting down with a tray full of cut watermelons. Its break-time.

Nakatana’s biggest worry is that Tsamseb was dropped off by the social workers without even the basic needs and this she said began to frustrate him because he is used to fending for himself.

“I didn’t do it because I can afford it, but because of being humanitarian,” Nakatana said.

Since he came to school two weeks ago, she said they have not received any complaint about him. She made him class captain on his second day at school.

“I leave him in charge when I go to the office, if the others are misbehaving I find them doing push-ups,” she said while giggling, and then adds “I am glad he doesn’t give them corporal punishment. I told him it is not allowed. Sometimes you would find the whole class standing up and being told to stretch out their arms, being punished for one person’s sins.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.