A local Namibian politician, Adolf Hitler Uunona, is widely expected to retain his council seat in the country’s latest round of regional elections, drawing international attention to a name he says has no ideological significance.
He is a long-time member of Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party and is running again in the Ompundja constituency in the northern Oshana region.
Although final figures have not yet been released, several international media reports that he is expected to win by a wide margin, in line with previous elections. The SWAPO, which has governed Namibia since independence in 1990, has shifted from its socialist liberation roots to a more centrist, market-oriented approach to governance.
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Adolf Hitler Uunona, a local Namibian politician, is widely expected to retain his council seat, drawing global attention for a name he says has no connection with extremist beliefs. (Oshana Regional Council)
His name, linked to the German dictator – ‘Adolf Hitler’ – was given to him by his father, he told the newspaper German outlet Bild, who he claimed did not understand the historical weight of the name.
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“It was a completely normal name for me when I was little,” Uunona told Bild. “It wasn’t until I got older that I realized this man wanted to subjugate the entire world and kill millions of Jews.”
A police officer stands in front of a collection of Nazi artifacts discovered in 2017 during a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 2, 2019. (Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)
He said his childhood name did not reflect political intentions and emphasized that he has never had extremist beliefs.
“The fact that I have this name does not mean that I want to conquer Oshana,” he said, adding that in previous interviews he is usually called Adolf Uunona in everyday life.
Namibia was a German colony from 1884 to 1915, and Germanic names and place names remain common in some communities. Historians note that this legacy sometimes results in unusual or shocking combinations by modern standards, although these have no inherent ideological significance.
Namibian flags are waved by a crowd. (Getty Images)
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According to official information from the Oshana Regional GovernmentThe Ompundja constituency has a population of 4,659, 19 administrative centers and covers 466 square kilometers.
