The Namibian @40: Tom Minney

Tom Minney first visited Namibia in July 1989 to cover the return of Swapo exiles under the three Rs programme (repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement) before independence.

He moved to Namibia in September 1990 and got a freelance job at Windhoek Advertiser (now Windhoek Observer).

He says they were paid by the number of column inches they filled, however, he did his best to scoop the best stories every Friday until he was hired at The Namibian in January 1991.

By that time The Namibian had moved to its current office.

Minney says he was persuaded by Jean Sutherland to reduce his news stories to 300 from 2 000 words.

He says they were trained to focus on bad news in the United Kingdom, but the then editor Gwen Lister agreed that he could write good news, as well as bad news.

“We felt the balance is important in a new country, for people to understand what the government is trying to achieve and appreciate any progress in difficult times,” he says.

Minney adds that he found a lot of good news while reporting on the third anniversary of Namibia’s independence including a Baster rebellion, disbandment of the border force of ex-combatants that had tried to torture a tourist as a potential spy and the completely peaceful handover of Walvis Bay.
“Call-in programmes on the radio, non-governmental organisations, journalism and parliamentary debates were how Namibians tackled issues, mostly replacing detention, bombs and knives in the night,” he says.

From politics he moved to cover business, something he says was important to keep readers informed on what was going on and how it could affect them, their jobs, families, incomes and homes.

He says his memorable stories include covering the 1990 arrest of illegal Spanish fishing boats and their crews at Lüderitz, as well as the 1992 formation of the Namibian Stock Exchange.

He says there needed to be more space for new journalists to join the newsroom, however, promotion was unlikely as both Sutherland and Lister were in good health.

Minney studied for a master’s degree in business leadership correspondence at University of South Africa and later got a call suggesting he apply as an administrative officer at the Namibian Stock Exchange. He left The Namibian in 1994.

– Compiled by Dolly Menas.

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