Omaruru Constituency
Encyclopedia
Omaruru is a city and constituency in the Erongo Region of Namibia
. The town has 4,800 inhabitants and owns 352 square kilometres (135.9 sq mi) of land. The town is situated near the Erongo Mountains, 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.
The town is known for its annual festival
where the Hereros commemorate their past local chiefs, its winery
and for the dinosaur
footprint
s at nearby Otjihenamaparero.
established a brewery at Omaruru. Eriksson had also established a trading post, which flourished and by 1878 he employed about forty whites. Eriksson's business was based upon long-distance trading between southern Angola
and Cape Colony
, which necessitated the establishment of regional trade routes
The town grew around a mission built in 1872 by Gottlieb Viehe
, now a museum
, and was attacked in 1904 during the Herero and Namaqua Genocide
. Captain Franke's Tower was later erected to commemorate the relief by Hauptmann Franke's troops of the local garrison that was beleaguered by Hereo tribesmen who had risen against the German colonial presence.
and the von Trotha family travelled to Omaruru in October 2007 by invitation of the royal Herero chiefs and publicly apologised for his role in the Herero Genocide. Member of the family Wolf-Thilo von Trotha: "We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed of the terrible events that took place 100 years ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time," BBC News.
, SWAPO's Uparura U. U Michael Tjirare won the constituency with 1,102 votes. The defeated challengers were Josef Landuleni Nangolo of the Rally for Democracy and Progress
(570 votes), Lisken Noabes of the United Democratic Front
(398 votes) and John Tjiuongua of the Congress of Democrats
(96 votes).
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...
. The town has 4,800 inhabitants and owns 352 square kilometres (135.9 sq mi) of land. The town is situated near the Erongo Mountains, on the usually dry Omaruru River
Omaruru River
The Omaruru River is a major river crossing the Erongo Region of western central Namibia from East to West. It originates in the Etjo mountains, crosses the city of Omaruru and reaches the sea a few kilometers north of Henties Bay....
. It is located on the main paved road from Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
to Otjiwarongo
Otjiwarongo
Otjiwarongo is a city of 20,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa....
. 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.
The town is known for its annual festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
where the Hereros commemorate their past local chiefs, its winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
and for the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
footprint
Footprint
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes...
s at nearby Otjihenamaparero.
History
In 1871, Anders Ohlsson and Axel ErikssonAxel Wilhelm Eriksson
Axel Wilhelm Eriksson was a Swedish ornithologist, settler and trader in what is now Namibia. He was born in Vänersborg, in Sweden....
established a brewery at Omaruru. Eriksson had also established a trading post, which flourished and by 1878 he employed about forty whites. Eriksson's business was based upon long-distance trading between southern 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...
and Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, which necessitated the establishment of regional trade routes
The town grew around a mission built in 1872 by Gottlieb Viehe
Gottlieb Viehe
Gottlieb Viehe; full name Friedrich Wilhelm Gottlieb Viehe was a German missionary of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft and an early settler in present-day Namibia....
, now a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, and was attacked in 1904 during the Herero and Namaqua Genocide
Herero and Namaqua Genocide
The Herero and Namaqua Genocide is considered to have been the first genocide of the 20th century. It took place between 1904 and 1907 in German South-West Africa , during the scramble for Africa...
. Captain Franke's Tower was later erected to commemorate the relief by Hauptmann Franke's troops of the local garrison that was beleaguered by Hereo tribesmen who had risen against the German colonial presence.
Legacy of von Trotha
The descendants of Lothar von TrothaLothar von Trotha
Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha was a German military commander widely condemned for his conduct of the Herero Wars in South-West Africa, especially for the events that led to the near-extermination of the Herero....
and the von Trotha family travelled to Omaruru in October 2007 by invitation of the royal Herero chiefs and publicly apologised for his role in the Herero Genocide. Member of the family Wolf-Thilo von Trotha: "We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed of the terrible events that took place 100 years ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time," BBC News.
Politics
In the 2010 regional electionsNamibian local and regional elections, 2010
Namibia held elections for their local and regional councils on 26 and 27 November 2010. The terms of regional councillors and local authority representatives were originally set to expire in 2009...
, SWAPO's Uparura U. U Michael Tjirare won the constituency with 1,102 votes. The defeated challengers were Josef Landuleni Nangolo of the Rally for Democracy and Progress
Rally for Democracy and Progress (Namibia)
The Rally for Democracy and Progress is an opposition political party in Namibia. It was launched on November 17 2007 under the leadership of Hidipo Hamutenya and Jesaya Nyamu, both former leading members of the ruling SWAPO party and cabinet ministers. Hamutenya had unsuccessfully sought the SWAPO...
(570 votes), Lisken Noabes of the United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (Namibia)
The United Democratic Front is a political party in Namibia. Justus Garoëb is the party's leader.-1989:The UDF received 37,874 votes in the 1989 election, which elected members to the Constituent Assembly of Namibia. The Constituent Assembly elected the first President and wrote Namibia's...
(398 votes) and John Tjiuongua of the Congress of Democrats
Congress of Democrats
The Congress of Democrats is a political party in Namibia, led by Ben Ulenga. It is an opposition party represented in the National Assembly.The party is an observer of the Socialist International.- 2004 elections :...
(96 votes).