Old Location
Encyclopedia
The Old Location was an area segregated for Black residents of Windhoek
, the capital of Namibia
. It was situated in the area of today's suburb Hochland Park
.
Upon the creation of the neighborhood in 1912 by the Windhoek City Council, all Black residents of other areas of the city were moved to the Main Location. A year later, streets were laid out and the separation of Black ethnic groups took place, with each ethnic group forced to live in a different section. Administration of the area was split between Black local residents and White residents from elsewhere.
n colonial administration decided to forcefully move the residents of the Main Location 8 km to the north of the city, prompting the evicted people to give the new location the name Katutura
(Otjiherero "The place where we do not want to live"). Most residents did not want to move and protests came to a head in December 1959. Following protests and an effective boycott of municipal services by Main Location residents, the police opened fire on the protesters, killing 11 and wounding 44 others. Doctors at the hospitals in Windhoek refused to treat the wounded, telling them to "go to the United Nations
for treatment because these people ... [are] political patients". Although this claim is backed by many eyewitnesses, among them Sam Nujoma
, Namibia's founding president who references the incident in his autobiography Where Others Wavered
, it has not been unchallenged. Hannes Smith
caused a controversy in 2003, calling it a "gross lie".
3000-4000 residents fled the area and refused to return, fearing police reprisals. The Old Location Uprising, as it came to be known, was a rallying cry for Namibian independence until the country received independence in March 1990, 31 years later. It was one of the events leading to the foundation of SWAPO by forcing community leaders from the Ovamboland People's Organization
into exile, including Sam Nujoma. The Old Location uprising is the reason for the declaration of December 10, Human Rights Day
, as a Namibian national holiday.
In 1968, the Old Location was officially closed and whites began to settle.
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...
, the capital of Namibia
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 was situated in the area of today's suburb Hochland Park
Hochland Park
Hochland Park is a residential suburb in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It is named after the German Khomas Hochland, the central-Namibian plateau area in which Windhoek is situated....
.
Upon the creation of the neighborhood in 1912 by the Windhoek City Council, all Black residents of other areas of the city were moved to the Main Location. A year later, streets were laid out and the separation of Black ethnic groups took place, with each ethnic group forced to live in a different section. Administration of the area was split between Black local residents and White residents from elsewhere.
Old Location Uprising
During the 1950s, the Windhoek municipality and the 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...
n colonial administration decided to forcefully move the residents of the Main Location 8 km to the north of the city, prompting the evicted people to give the new location the name Katutura
Katutura
Katutura is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed into the suburb Hochland Park. Sam Nujoma Stadium, built in 2005, is located within Katutura...
(Otjiherero "The place where we do not want to live"). Most residents did not want to move and protests came to a head in December 1959. Following protests and an effective boycott of municipal services by Main Location residents, the police opened fire on the protesters, killing 11 and wounding 44 others. Doctors at the hospitals in Windhoek refused to treat the wounded, telling them to "go to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for treatment because these people ... [are] political patients". Although this claim is backed by many eyewitnesses, among them Sam Nujoma
Sam Nujoma
Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma is a Namibian politician who was the first President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He led the South-West Africa People's Organisation in its long struggle against South African rule and took office as President when Namibia obtained independence on 21 March 1990...
, Namibia's founding president who references the incident in his autobiography Where Others Wavered
Where Others Wavered
Where Others Wavered: The Autobiography of Sam Nujoma - My Life in SWAPO and My Participation in the Liberation Struggle of Namibia, commonly known as Where Others Wavered, is an autobiographical work written by Sam Nujoma and published by Panaf Books in 2001...
, it has not been unchallenged. Hannes Smith
Hannes Smith
Johannes Martin Smith , affectionately known as Smithie, was a Namibian journalist, editor and publisher. He was first reporter at, then the editor of, the Windhoek Advertiser until 1978 when he and Gwen Lister founded the Windhoek Observer, the country's only Saturday paper at that time...
caused a controversy in 2003, calling it a "gross lie".
3000-4000 residents fled the area and refused to return, fearing police reprisals. The Old Location Uprising, as it came to be known, was a rallying cry for Namibian independence until the country received independence in March 1990, 31 years later. It was one of the events leading to the foundation of SWAPO by forcing community leaders from the Ovamboland People's Organization
Ovamboland People's Organization
The Ovamboland People's Organization is a defunct nationalist organization that advocated an independent Ovamboland . Andimba Toivo ya Toivo and Sam Nujoma founded the OPO in 1959...
into exile, including Sam Nujoma. The Old Location uprising is the reason for the declaration of December 10, Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
, as a Namibian national holiday.
In 1968, the Old Location was officially closed and whites began to settle.