Oniipa
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Oniipa is a town in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Oniipa electoral constituency. It had 4,740 inhabitants1 in 2023.
Oniipa is a town in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Oniipa electoral constituency. It had 4,740 inhabitants in 2023.
Geography
Oniipa is situated just outside Ondangwa. In 2014, the area around Oniipa was declared the Onethindi-Oniipa Settlement Area. Parts of Onethindi were incorporated in 2015.
History
Oniipa was established in 18721 by the Finnish Missionary Society. During the war for independence of the country, Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango (ELOC) Printing Press shop was burnt down by the Boers.
Economy and infrastructure
75% of Oniipa's residents have access to clean drinking water. The old church hospital, Onandjokwe State Hospital is situated in Oniipa. It is named after black birds locally known as oondjohwi, living in a nearby valley. Today, the hospital is managed by the Government of Namibia. Oniipa Training School, a teacher training school founded in 19131, is situated in town.
Tourism
Onandjokwe State Hospital houses Namibia's only medical museum. Owing to its connections to Finnish culture, Oniipa operates Namibia's only public sauna. Nakambale Museum, named after the nickname of Martti Rautanen, is situated in town.
Politics
Oniipa was proclaimed a town in 2015. Since then is governed by a town council that has seven seats. Oshikoto Region, to which Oniipa belongs, is a stronghold of Namibia's ruling SWAPO party. For the 2015 local authority election no opposition party nominated a candidate, and SWAPO won uncontested. SWAPO only narrowly won the 20201 local authority election. It obtained 733 votes and gained four seats. The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, obtained 673 votes and gained three seats.
Notable people
Michael Amushelelo (born 19911), social activist, politician and a businessman It is the hometown of former Lutheran bishop and liberation leader Leonard Auala.
Notes
Literature
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378603347 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.