Namibia President Urges Action Against GBV, Killings

Message by Her Excellency Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, on the occasion of the National Prayer Day Against Gender-Based Violence and Gruesome Killings. Director of Ceremonies; Hon. Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, Governor of Khomas Region, and other Governors present; Your Worship Cllr. Sakaria Uunona, Mayor of the City of Windhoek; Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Amb. Emilia Mkusa, Secretary to the Cabinet; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Regional and Local Authority Councillors; Bishop Sageus /Kheib, President of the Council of Churches Namibia; Esteemed Religious and Spiritual Leaders; Traditional Authority Leaders; Members of the Media; Director of Ceremonies, As a nation we are being haunted by different evils, hence the theme of today's prayer day, "Seeking Divine Intervention for Behavioural Change. God Knows. God Hears. God Sees." We may recall that on the 6th of March 2014, H.E. Hifikepunye Pohamba, then President of the Republic of Namibia, led a national prayer day on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and passion killing. The main purpose was to seek divine intervention, express solidarity with the victims and their families, and to raise awareness of the harmful impact of violence against women and children. Today, 12 years later, we are back again to put our prayers together, believing that God hears. However, the big question we must ask ourselves is: what is it that we are not doing right, seeing that the progress we are making in the fight against Gender-Based Violence is not significant? Another challenge we are facing is that we are also losing too many lives on our roads. Namibia has some of the best roads in the world, and still we bury our loved ones on them, year after year. Since I assumed Office on 21 March 2025, religious leaders and concerned citizens have called for the nation to come together in prayer. On the 4th May this year, in Outapi, Omusati Region, on the commemoration of Cassinga Day, I called on the nation to go on prayer due to the high rate of accidents on our roads. I am glad that the nation has responded and prayers were held at different places in our country. We are here on the decision of Cabinet that called for the nation to come together today, 12 September 2026, in prayer across all fourteen regions. I want to thank Her Excellency Lucia Witbooi, Vice President, who, upon being assigned responsibility by Cabinet to lead the organisation of the prayer day, worked diligently with her team; hence our presence here and at different places in the country. Well done, Cde VP. I thank every Namibian who answered this call and stands with us today wherever you may be. Today, religious and spiritual leaders from every tradition join us, and together we stand with the survivors and grieving families of the tragedies facing our nation. Behind every case of gender-based violence, every death on our roads, every life lost to suicide, is a person, a family, a community left living with pain. A pain that is felt across the entire nation. No institution can solve these tragedies we face alone. Government, the police, our courts, schools, families, religious institutions, traditional authorities, and communities must work as one towards bringing an end to these evils that face us. I also accept that Government has the biggest role to play and Government accepts its responsibility and Government will continue to act. Namibia has strong laws. Laws that are there to protect its citizens. We acknowledge that there is a huge gap between what the legislation provides for and the implementation thereof. To close these gaps, the following is happening: The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, together with the Inspector-General of the Namibian Police, are conducting a full assessment of every Gender-Based Violence Protection Unit in the country, their staffing, training, transport, communication systems, case tracking, and reach to survi