Preparations for Namibia’s 36th Independence Day celebrations in the Kunene Region are nearing completion, with the organisers expressing confidence that the town of Khorixas is ready to host the regional event scheduled for March 21, 2026.
The chairperson of the steering committee for the independence celebrations in the Kunene Region, Tomi Adams, told Nampa the region feels honoured to have Khorixas selected as the host town for this year’s commemorations.
“We are, as a region, very ready, and Khorixas is honoured to have been chosen as host,” he said.
According to Adams, preparations started early in February after the organising committee received confirmation that Khorixas would host the regional celebrations.
“We have been busy as an organising committee since early February upon receiving the good news. The stadium in Khorixas needed some patching up, but we are now in the final stages of wrapping it up,” he said.
The Herbert Conradie Stadium in Khorixas will serve as the main venue for the regional celebrations, where residents, traditional leaders and government officials are expected to gather on 21 March 2026 to commemorate Namibia’s independence.
Community members in Khorixas have also been actively involved in preparing the town for the event. Adams said residents have demonstrated strong unity and enthusiasm ahead of the celebrations.
“The camaraderie amongst the inhabitants of Khorixas has been very positive. They have even organised themselves into groups to clean our town,” he said.
The Khorixas Town Council supported the initiative by providing black refuse bags as well as food and drinks for volunteers who participated in the clean-up activities.
However, organisers said preparations were briefly affected by misinformation suggesting that the national independence day event would take place in Khorixas. Adams said the organising committee responded quickly to address the issue through public communication.
“The biggest challenge was probably the misinformation that said the country’s national event was to be in Khorixas. We quickly put that to bed through a robust media campaign to correct it,” he said.
Adams added that Independence Day remains important for Namibians to reflect on the country’s progress and celebrate the freedom achieved in 1990.
Namibia’s 2026 Independence Day celebrations will be held simultaneously across all 14 regions, marking a departure from previous years when events were hosted in a single region or town.