Namibia renames regions & towns

update (10 April 2014): According to a recent report in The Namibian (online edition, 08 April 2014), the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has accepted the name change from Lüderitz to !Nami#Nus, despite an ongoing dispute over the name of the southern harbour town. The ECN placed a government gazette notification in daily newspapers on 07 April 2014 in Namibia, in which they referred to !Nami#Nus instead of Lüderitz. The commission told the newspaper that it refers to the information it gathered from the gazetted information from the Fourth Delimitation Commission.

update (10 Sept 2013): The Lüderitz renaming saga continues - Namibia's president Hifikepunye Pohamba on Friday (06 Sept 2013) said that he had approved the recent renaming of Lüderitz to !Nami#Nus on recommendation of the Fourth Delimitation Commission.

update (29 Aug 2013): According to various media reports, Namibia's Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development Charles Namoloh is insisting that the town name of Lüderitz has been changed despite the comments made by Shangala.

update (26 Aug 2013): According to Hitradio, a German-Namibian radio station in Namibia, the name of Lüderitz will not be changed. The Chairman of the Law Reform and Development Commission, Mr. Shanghala, told the Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) that only the constituency (a subdivision of a Namibian region) will be renamed !Nami=Nüs. We'll keep you posted!

The President of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, yesterday revealed that the Caprivi Region will now be called Zambezi Region, while the Karas Region has been renamed to !Karas Region and that the Kavango Region will be divided into Kavango East and Kavango West. According to South Africa's newspaper Business Day (online edition), Schuckmannsburg in the Zambezi Region (!) was changed back to its original Lohonono and the coastal town of Lüderitz in the !Karas Region //Karas Region (!) is now called !Nami=Nüs, which means "embrace" in local Khoekhoegowab, a Khoisan language.