Every day, motorists who stop at traffic lights in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Oshakati, Rundu and other Namibian towns are approached by children asking for money.
The same scenes unfold outside shopping malls, supermarkets, shebeens and fuel stations.
For many Namibians, it has become a national concern.
Most of these children are believed to be from neighbouring Angola. Regardless of their nationality, they are children, and children should not be living and working on the streets.
Namibia and Angola enjoy one of the strongest diplomatic relationships in southern Africa.
During Namibia’s liberation struggle, Angola opened its borders to thousands of Namibians, provided refuge, hosted training facilities, and made significant sacrifices in support of Namibia’s independence.
That shared history places a moral responsibility on both nations to work together to address a humanitarian challenge affecting vulnerable children.
The issue should never be reduced to immigration alone. It is fundamentally about child protection, human dignity, national security and effective governance.
PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES
Children who spend years on the streets face numerous risks. They become vulnerable to exploitation by criminal syndicates, human trafficking, forced labour, sexual abuse, substance abuse and preventable diseases.
Without access to education, healthcare and social protection, they are deprived of opportunities to become productive members of society.
Equally concerning is the absence of proper documentation for many of these children. A child without legal identity is difficult to protect, difficult to trace and difficult to integrate into education and healthcare systems.
As these children grow into adulthood without documentation or structured support, governments may face increasingly complex challenges related to identification, policing and service delivery.
Ignoring today’s problem simply postpones tomorrow’s crisis.
This should not be seen as an argument against African solidarity or against migrants. On the contrary, African unity must also include shared responsibility. Compassion and good governance are not opposing values, they complement one another.
Many Namibians have expressed growing concern over the children begging in public spaces.
Tourists frequently encounter children asking for money outside shopping centres, restaurants and tourist attractions.
While there is no evidence that this alone determines tourism performance, persistent street begging can influence visitors’ perceptions of safety, social welfare and urban management.
Namibia has built an international reputation as one of Africa’s safest and most peaceful destinations, and preserving that image requires addressing visible social challenges with humanity and professionalism.
Fortunately, practical solutions exist.
Namibia and Angola should establish a permanent bilateral task force dedicated specifically to vulnerable cross-border children.
It should involve immigration authorities, police, social workers, education ministries, health officials, child protection agencies and diplomatic representatives from both countries.
PATHWAYS AND PRIORITIES
The first priority should be to conduct a comprehensive registration exercise. Every undocumented child should be identified, medically assessed and documented.
Authorities cannot effectively protect people they do not know.
Secondly, social workers should determine whether children are accompanied by their families or are victims of trafficking, neglect or organised exploitation. Not every child on the street has the same story, and responses should therefore be tailored accordingly.
Thirdly, temporary child protection centres should be established where children can receive shelter, food, medical care, counselling and education while their individual circumstances are assessed.
These centres should never resemble detention facilities; rather, they should reflect the best interests of the child as recognised under international child protection principles.
Where family reunification in Angola is possible and safe, both governments should coordinate voluntary and dignified repatriation.
Where children cannot safely return, Namibia and Angola should jointly explore legal pathways that comply with domestic law and international obligations, including appropriate immigration, refugee or humanitarian protection mechanisms where applicable.
Education must remain central to any solution. Every child belongs in a classroom not at a traffic light. Investment in schooling today is far less costly than attempting to address unemployment, crime and social exclusion years later.
EXPLOITATION
Public awareness campaigns should also discourage motorists from giving money directly to the children on the streets.
While such gestures come from compassion, they may unintentionally encourage children to remain in unsafe environments.
Instead, citizens should be encouraged to support recognised charities and child welfare programmes.
Law enforcement should simultaneously investigate whether organised networks are exploiting children for financial gain.
If criminal syndicates are profiting from vulnerable minors, those responsible must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The conversation should move beyond political rhetoric and social media debates. It requires practical leadership grounded in evidence, compassion and cooperation.
Namibia has previously demonstrated remarkable generosity by welcoming refugees from neighbouring countries during times of conflict. Angola similarly stood with Namibia during its struggle for independence.
That history reminds us that regional solidarity is not merely a slogan it is a responsibility.
Today, the challenge is different, but the principle remains the same.
No child should grow up believing that begging at traffic lights is a way of life.
No government should accept that children can remain undocumented, uneducated and vulnerable indefinitely.
And no society should wait until a humanitarian concern evolves into a more complex social problem before taking decisive action.
The solution is neither hostility nor indifference. It is cooperation.
POLITICAL WILL
One voice that has consistently called for urgent action is that of lawyer Kadhila Amoomo.
Rather than treating these children as an immigration problem alone, Amoomo has framed the issue as a humanitarian and child protection crisis.
He has publicly urged the Namibian government to establish a dedicated multi-agency task force to identify every child, provide emergency shelter, food, education and psychological support, while developing long-term solutions through either family reunification, repatriation or lawful integration where appropriate.
Amoomo has also argued that allowing children to beg on the streets exposes them to exploitation and may violate both the Namibian Constitution and international conventions protecting the rights of children.
His intervention has helped shift the national conversation from simply removing children from the streets to finding durable, humane and lawful solutions that uphold their dignity and best interests
Namibia and Angola possess the diplomatic relations, institutional capacity and historical goodwill needed to resolve this issue together.
What is now required is the political will to act. Protecting these children is not only an act of compassion, it is an investment in the future stability, safety and dignity of both nations.
– Hosea Shishiveni is a Namibian scholar and researcher; hoseasn8@gmail.com. The views expressed in this article are his own.
