Some social media users have claimed that Namibia is deporting over 500 United States citizens without visas from the country.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Zamani’s blog, an entertainment page, claimed that Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibian president, said the intention was to prevent Americans from visiting Nambia without visas.
Nandi-Ndaitwah allegedly cited the need for Nambians to get visas before visiting the US to justify her actions.
The post has gathered over 5.2k reactions, 377 comments, and 162 shares.
The claim also appeared on Progressive Nigerian Politics, a Facebook political page, and was widely shared on Whatsapp.
By Monday, the claim spread to Instagram, surfacing in another post on Tuesday.
“If Africans need visas to enter the USA, then Americans must also need visas to enter Namibia,” all posts reported the president as saying.
Afrika World, an Instagram user, said the “bold move sends a clear message no visa means no stay reinforcing the country’s commitment to upholding its immigration laws without exception”.
The post had 5,204 likes and 339 comments.
Africa Hub, an X account that claims to tell African stories to the world, also shared the post on Tuesday.
The post had 26.4k views, 1.2k likes, 431 reposts, 63 comments, and 28 bookmarks.
The post was duplicated in X here and here.
VERIFICATION
In July 2024, the Namibian government led by former President Nangolo Mbumba announced that effective April 1, 2025, travellers from at least 31 nations would be subjected to visa restrictions.
The affected countries included the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, and Italy.
Other countries on the list were Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Ukraine, and Armenia.
Namibia said its relationship with the countries had been one-sided, as it had exempted their travellers from visa restrictions, but they did not reciprocate.
On April 2, the US embassy in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, issued a statement announcing that the policy had come into effect on the appointed date.
The US embassy advised its citizens to obtain a visa before entering Namibia.
The policy was put into action barely two weeks after Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as the country’s first female president.
To confirm the alleged deportation order, CableCheck perused Nandi-Ndaitwah’s social media accounts, particularly X and Facebook, and observed that the president did not make any declaration of the said claim.
Social media accounts were not found for Lucia Iipumbu, minister of home affairs, immigration, safety, and security. CableCheck also searched the ministry’s website and social media account, which also did not provide statements verifying the claims.
Other key figures such as Elijah Ngurare, Nambia’s prime minister, also had no confirmation of the claim on social media.
In addition, the deportation order was not reported in any credible Namibian newspaper.
No verified videos or audio show Nandi-Ndaitwah or any member of her cabinet making such an order.
VERDICT
There is no evidence to back the claim that Namibia’s president ordered the deportation of over 500 Americans under a tit-for-tat visa policy.
The policy changing the visa relationship between the US and Namibia was announced nearly a year before Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as president.
