Outjo town commemorates 120 years

OUTJO, 23 JUN  – Over 1 000 Outjo residents on Friday gathered at the Etoshapoort Stadium to commemorate the 120 years’ existence of their town.
Vice President, Nangolo Mbumba was present and officiated at the event.
In his statement, Mbumba said that history archived by the Outjo Municipality indicate Charles John Anderson to have been the first European settler in Outjo in 1859. He found San, Damara and Herero speaking Namibians who lived as nomads and hunters and gatherers of wild fruits.
“They called this place Otjoho, Otjo and later as Outjo, which means in indigenous, a place on the rocks or little hills, referring to the hilly topography of this town,” said Mbumba.
He further said that in 1895 to 1898, Germans settled themselves in this place by putting up a big fortress near the western bank of the Outjo River for their troops, and this became the first permanent structure for Outjo.
Scarcity of water caused a big problem in the 1900s when the population increased, and the Germans dug a well in the river where they built a tower, which is still a national monument in the area today.
Water is still being supplied by the Outjo Municipality today from some of the boreholes drilled by the German forces.
Etoshapoort township was then established in 1906 with seven smaller businesses and a population of 237 residents, Mbumba said.
A church building of the Rhenish missionaries was built in 1910, followed by the construction of a school for white children in 1921.
Outjo became a village council in 1925 and was later promoted to a municipality on 01 April 1944.
Reverend Paul /Goagoseb was Outjo’s first black mayor in 1992.
“In memories of the sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives to free this country, we dedicate today’s 120th Anniversary to them,” said Mbumba.
He then called on the residents, who have grown to more than 12 000, and town leaders to shun racism, tribalism, sexism, regionalism and all inhumane behaviour in order to further develop their town.
Mbumba wished Outjo in the Kunene Region success in becoming a big city in the next 120 years.
(NAMPA)