Oshakati
Encyclopedia
Oshakati is a town of 30,000 inhabitants in the Oshana Region of Namibia
. It is the regional capital and was officially founded in July 1966. The city was used as a base of operations by the South African Defence Force
(SADF) during the South African Border War
and Namibian War of Independence
. Oshakati is considered to be the largest town and capital of the northern area known as Ovamboland
.
Oshakati contains the electoral constituencies of Oshakati East
and Oshakati West
.
through the capital Windhoek
and on to the Angola
n border. The Oshakati town, (popularly known as 'Otshakati tsha Nangombe' by the native Kwambi people) is within the Kwambi traditional authority.
In February 1988, a bomb blast
occurred in Oshakati at the First National Bank, killing 27 people and badly injuring nearly 30 others, most of them nurses and teachers. No one was ever officially convicted of the bombing and the issue was dropped upon independence in 1990 in favour of national reconciliation.
's President Festus Mogae
.
Oshakati has a football team, Oshakati City FC.
In Oshakati there are many primary and secondary schools like Iipumbu, Oshakati, Ngolo, Erundu Secondary School
, Kabatana and others, including Afoti Combined School in Uuvudhiya constituency in Oshana Regionin the Omapopo cluster of Oshakati Circuit.
There are also many shops and stores like Jet, Mr Price etc apart from that there are also furniture stores, shoes stores e.g Mandoza. There are three main shopping centres: Game, Etango, and Yetu. There is also Oshakati Independence Stadium and UNAM
Northern campus.
), with hot summers and relatively mild winters (with warm days and cool nights). The average annual precipitation is 472 mm (19 in), with most rainfall occurring mainly during summer.
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. It is the regional capital and was officially founded in July 1966. The city was used as a base of operations by the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
(SADF) during the South African Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
and Namibian War of Independence
Namibian War of Independence
See also South African Border War.The Namibian War of Independence, also known as the South African Border War, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war, which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization and others, fought against the apartheid government in South...
. Oshakati is considered to be the largest town and capital of the northern area known as Ovamboland
Ovamboland
Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
.
Oshakati contains the electoral constituencies of Oshakati East
Oshakati East
Oshakati East is an electoral constituency in the Oshana Region of Namibia. It contains the eastern parts of the town of Oshakati and has 22,634 inhabitants.-Politics:...
and Oshakati West
Oshakati West
Oshakati West is an electoral constituency in the Oshana Region of Namibia. It contains the western parts of the town of Oshakati and has 20,015 inhabitants.-Politics:In the 2010 regional elections, SWAPO's Aram Martin won the constituency with 5,156 votes...
.
History
In Oshiwambo, the language of the Ovambo, the town's name means "that which is in between", although some believe that the name (Oshakati, also Otshakati) was used to refer to the Tower, tallest freestanding structure downtown. Oshakati is located near the B1, Namibia's main highway, which stretches from South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
through the capital Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
and on to the Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n border. The Oshakati town, (popularly known as 'Otshakati tsha Nangombe' by the native Kwambi people) is within the Kwambi traditional authority.
In February 1988, a bomb blast
1988 Oshakati bomb blast
The 1988 Oshakati bomb blast was a bombing in Oshakati, Ovamboland, South West Africa which killed 27 people and left 70 others injured on 17 February 1988. The target of the bombing was the Barclay's Bank in the town...
occurred in Oshakati at the First National Bank, killing 27 people and badly injuring nearly 30 others, most of them nurses and teachers. No one was ever officially convicted of the bombing and the issue was dropped upon independence in 1990 in favour of national reconciliation.
Development and infrastructure
Oshakati has experienced much development since Namibia achieved independence on March 21, 1990. In April 2006, the Oshakati Town Council building was inaugurated by BotswanaBotswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
's President Festus Mogae
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae is a Botswana politician who was President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was reelected in October 2004; after ten years in office, he stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Ian Khama...
.
Oshakati has a football team, Oshakati City FC.
In Oshakati there are many primary and secondary schools like Iipumbu, Oshakati, Ngolo, Erundu Secondary School
Erundu Secondary School
Erundu Secondary School is a former white-only school on Kwame Nkrumah Street in Oshakati, northern Namibia. In 2010, it was considered one of the best schools in Namibia....
, Kabatana and others, including Afoti Combined School in Uuvudhiya constituency in Oshana Regionin the Omapopo cluster of Oshakati Circuit.
There are also many shops and stores like Jet, Mr Price etc apart from that there are also furniture stores, shoes stores e.g Mandoza. There are three main shopping centres: Game, Etango, and Yetu. There is also Oshakati Independence Stadium and UNAM
University of Namibia
The University of Namibia is the national university of Namibia, located in the Pioneers Park district of Windhoek. Established by an act of National Assembly on 31 August 1992, UNAM includes Colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Economics & Management Science Education, Humanities and...
Northern campus.
Climate
Oshakati has a semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
), with hot summers and relatively mild winters (with warm days and cool nights). The average annual precipitation is 472 mm (19 in), with most rainfall occurring mainly during summer.
Notable residents
- GazzaGazza (artist)Lazaruz Karandu Shiimi known by his stage name as Gazza, is a Namibian kwaito musician from Oshakati. As a soccer lover, he nicknamed himself Gazza after famous English soccer player Paul Gascoigne. He is one of the most commercially successful recording artists in Namibia...
a kwaito musician - Tara Katupose and Muna KatuposeMuna KatuposeMuna Katupose is a Namibian football forward with Oshakati City F.C. and the Namibia national football team. He has 6 caps for Namibia and was on the squad which appeared at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, where he appeared in 2 of the 3 matches...
, soccer-playing twins - Fresh Family, a group of kwaito musicians and dancers
- Craig WilliamsCraig Williams (cricketer)Craig Williams is a Namibian cricketer.Williams made his first-class debut for the Namibian cricket team in 2007, in a Three-Day South African Provincial Challenge match against North West. Williams bowled four overs in the first innings of the match, conceding 23 runs...
(1984-), cricketer