The Namibian @40: Nick de Voss

My journey/love relationship with ‘the people’s paper’ began at The Namibian’s genesis right back in 1985, when it was first published as a weekly.

I eagerly followed the trajectory of The Namibian’s groundbreaking and provocative journalism – challenging the all-powerful monster of apartheid colonialism enforced by South African prime minister PW Botha and his agents in the then South West Africa.

The year 1985 coincided with Botha’s infamous ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ speech from which political analysts expected ‘Pete Weapon’ (as Botha was sometimes referred to) to announce the end of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela. This so-called Rubicon speech, however, did not deliver either of the two – apartheid would still remain on the statute books, and Mandela would stay incarcerated up to 1990.

The Namibian’s fearless founding editor, Gwen Lister, and her team of dedicated journalists were often viewed as people with a death wish, because they dared publish news articles about ‘forbidden’ topics on Swapo, the border war, exiled Swapo leaders and other controversial issues of the time.

The Namibian, as far as I can recall, was the first newspaper in Namibia calling Swapo’s soldiers ‘freedom fighters’, not ‘terrorists’.

Gwen and her patriotic colleagues paid a heavy price for the mantra ‘telling it like it is’ – constant surveillance, harassment, intimidation, and incarceration.

The paper’s offices were even fire-bombed.

Our readers will always recall these and other iconic images and news articles that occasionally covered The Namibian’s front pages – the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia fighter ‘draped’ over the tyre of a South African Casspir (military vehicle), John Liebenberg’s coverage of South Africa’s incursion into Angola, the 1989 arrival of Martti Athisaari and the deployment of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, the South African Defence Force ambush of hundreds of Swapo fighters in northern Namibia, Hage Geingob kissing Namibia’s soil, Sam Nujoma’s triumphant return to his motherland after close to 30 years in exile, Anton Lubowski’s assassination, Mandela’s release from prison, Namibia’s Constituent Assembly members on the steps of the Tinten Palast (‘Ink Palace’), Swapo’s mass rallies, the Namibian flag hoisted on 21 March 1990, Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993, Mother Teresa’s death in 1997, Barack Obama’s historic inauguration in 2009 as America’s first black president, the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Namibians mourning the consecutive deaths of two presidents, and the inauguration of Namibia’s first woman head of state.

I give credit to Jean Sutherland for most of these front-page masterpieces!

And who will ever forget Gwen Lister’s weekly column ‘Political Perspective’, the Rambler’s hard-hitting satire, Dudley Viall’s hilarious cartoons, and Werner Menges’ unforgettable and thorough coverage of court cases?

Let me propose a toast to The Namibian on its 40th birthday, and may the people’s paper grow from strength to strength, always ‘telling it like it is’. Kudos also to Tangeni and Shinovene and the dedicated reporters and staff for their invaluable service to the nation.

• – Nick de Voss is a former proofreader at the Namibian.

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