AfricaIs aCountry

Independence Day in Namibia

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Independence Day in Namibia

By
Tom Devriendt

Not only is it Human Rights Day in South Africa today (read up on its meaning by searching our archive for ‘Sharpeville’), this day 22 years ago also saw Namibia wrestle itself officially free from the same Apartheid claws that were responsible for the massacre in Sharpeville. Which makes it a day both to remember and to celebrate. I’m picking up the Independence Day meme of popular music we started last year. 5 Namibian tunes. First up, Overitje group Ondarata’s ‘Tuvare Tuakapanda’:



Patrick, Deon and Kamutonyo (aka PDK) mix Portuguese, Oshiwambo, Kwangali and Umbundu in ‘Moko’:

The prolific Tate Buti with Kamati Nangolo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPe4dt6j8_E

A bit older: Exit’s ‘Molokasi’:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_Rf0vSppU

And Gazza’s love song to Seelima:

You can dance to it.

Further Reading

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Wizkid’s dispute with Seun Kuti and the release of his latest EP with Asake highlight the widening gap between Afrobeats’ commercial triumph and Fela Kuti’s political inheritance

Progress is exhausting

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The rubble of empire

Built by Italian Fascists in 1928, Mogadishu Cathedral was meant to symbolize “peaceful conquest.” Today its ruins force Somalis to confront the uneasy afterlife of colonial power and religious authority.