Oshikuku | |
---|---|
Town | |
Nickname(s): tjaa-kwambi | |
Motto(s): Together we can succeed | |
Coordinates: 17°38′00″S15°28′00″E / 17.63333°S 15.46667°E Coordinates: 17°38′00″S15°28′00″E / 17.63333°S 15.46667°E | |
Country | Namibia |
Region | Omusati Region |
Constituency | Oshikuku Constituency |
Population (2011) [1] | |
• Total | 2,761 |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Currency | Namibian dollar |
Languages | Oshiwambo, English, Afrikaans, German |
Religions | Protestant, Roman Catholic |
Oshikuku is a town in Omusati Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of Oshikuku Constituency. [2]
Oshikuku features a secondary school, Nuuyoma Senior Secondary School, and a hospital. Its neighbouring villages are Outapi, Elim and Ogongo.
After Iipumpu Ya Tshilongo, king of the Uukwambi from 1907 to 1932, had resisted the establishment of mission stations in his territory for years, he finally allowed the Catholic Church to establish the first mission station in former Ovamboland in Oshikuku in 1924. [3] The station was established under the leadership of missionary and later Archbishop Joseph Gotthardt. [4] Oshikuku is until today home to a Roman Catholic Church parish. [5]
Oshikuku was a village until early 2011, when it was granted town status. [6] It is since then governed by a town council that has seven seats. [7] Omusati Region, to which Oshikuku belongs, is a stronghold of Namibia's ruling SWAPO party. In the 2015 local authority election SWAPO won by a landslide (497 votes) and gained all seven council seats. The Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) also ran but gained only 16 votes. [8]
SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election. It obtained 472 votes and gained five seats. The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, obtained 157 votes and gained the remaining two seats. [9]
Oshikuku Town hosts numerous informal traders and hawkers, who frequently sell at roadsites and public spaces (e.g. in front of the hospital). In 2014 the construction of a modern market facility was completed and the majority of street vendors moved to this new facility. After an initial completion of the construction in 2013, the potential tenants demanded several improvements before showing willingness to move in. The market features numerous open stalls and several rooms with access to electricity, water and sanitation. The market is expected to increase safety and hygiene of trade in Oshikuku. [10]
Since 2007, Oshikuku has a government built and managed industrial park, accommodating various SMEs and larger businesses. The facility aims at increasing the town´s manufacturing potential by providing subsidised business amenities, preferably to local small and medium enterprises. Oshikuku Industrial Park was developed by the Offshore Development Company (ODC). [11]
Oshikuku is the birthplace of Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Namibia. Iipumpu Ya Tshilongo, eighteenth king of the Uukwambi, died here in 1959. [12]
Omusati is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. As of 2020, Omusati had 148,834 registered voters.
Grootfontein is a city of 23,793 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 national road that leads from Otavi to the Caprivi Strip.
Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city.
Omaruru is a city in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. The town has 14,000 inhabitants and owns 352 square kilometres (136 sq mi) of land. It is situated near Mount Erongo, on the usually dry Omaruru River. It is located on the main paved road from Swakopmund to Otjiwarongo. The name in the local Otjiherero language means 'bitter milk', as the cattle used to browse on a local bush that turned their milk bitter.
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the Garden Town of Namibia. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the B1 road. It was founded around 1800, by two local groups, the Herero and the Nama.
Ondangwa is a town of 23,000 inhabitants in the Oshana Region of northern Namibia, bordering Oshikoto Region. Ondangwa was first established as a mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society in 1890. In 1914 it became a local seat of government.
Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, northern Namibia and the district capital of the Ruacana electoral constituency. It is located on the border with Angola on the river Kunene. The town is known for the picturesque Ruacana Falls nearby, and for the Ruacana Power Station.
Karasburg is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Karasburg electoral constituency. It lies at the heart of the southern Namibian sheep farming industry.
Berseba is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Berseba electoral constituency. It is situated 100 km (62 mi) north-west of Keetmanshoop near the Brukkaros Mountain, a famous tourist destination.
Bethanie is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is one of the oldest settlements in the country. Bethanie is situated on the road C14 between Goageb and Walvis Bay, 100 km west of Keetmanshoop. It has a population of about 2,000.
Usakos is a town on the banks of river Khan, 140 kilometres north-east of Swakopmund in the Erongo Region of Namibia. It is located on the B2, the main road between the Walvis Bay and Johannesburg. The town has 3,000 inhabitants and owns 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) of land.
Outapi wa Nakafingo na Temba, also Outapi or Uutapi and Ombalantu, is a town in northern Namibia near the border with Angola situated 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Oshakati. It is the capital of Omusati region and the district capital of the Outapi electoral constituency. The language spoken there is Oshiwambo.
Eenhana is the capital town of the Ohangwena Region, northern Namibia, on the border with Angola. It also used to be a mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society.
Arandis is a town in the Erongo Region of western central Namibia. It has been called the Uranium Capital of the World as it is located just 15 km outside the world's largest open-pit uranium mine, the Rössing Uranium Mine.
Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. As of 2010 it had 27,000 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private schools and 13 government-run schools. Most of the inhabitants speak Oshiwambo.
Oniipa is a town in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Oniipa electoral constituency. It lies just outside Ondangwa. It is the hometown of former Lutheran bishop and liberation leader Leonard Auala.
Okahao is a town in the Omusati Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Okahao electoral constituency. It is situated in the Ongandjera tribal area 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Oshakati on the main road MR123. It is a former mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society.
Tsandi is a village in the Omusati Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Tsandi electoral constituency. It is a former mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society. It is situated on the main road MR123.
Elim Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Omusati Region of Namibia. It had 15,210 inhabitants in 2004 and 7,883 registered voters in 2020. Its district capital is the settlement of Elim.
Iipumbu ya Tshilongo (1875–1959) was king of the Uukwambi, an Ovambo clan in Namibia, from 1907 to 1932. He is one of the national heroes of Namibia.