Strategic communications, particularly during the Geingob era and now in the early days of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration, highlight a profound breakdown in communication between the country’s highest office and the public. This chasm is not merely a matter of optics; it undermines good governance, transparency, and accountability. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s appointment of youthful news anchor Jonas Mbambo as her press secretary brings to an end Alfredo Hengari’s tenure as chief spokesperson in the Presidency.
Hengari, a former harsh critic of the government, through his longstanding regular column in The Namibian, the country’s biggest newspaper, was surprisingly appointed by Hage Geingob in 2018 despite never working in public relations or a similar field.
Hengari’s exit has brought a palpable sense of relief to many editors and journalists frustrated with his bedside manner.
However, Kazembire Zemburuka, veteran broadcaster and Bank of Namibia’s spokesperson, said Hengari brought “an academic tone that, at times, came across as standoffish to sections of the media”.
This naturally led to some friction with journalists working under tight deadlines and accustomed to quicker, more direct responses and also professional relationships under Hengari’s predecessor, Albertus Auchamub, an experienced communications executive.
Hengari’s inability to build meaningful working relationships within the media was a significant factor in the Presidency’s message, if they had one, falling on deaf ears and often inviting ridicule.
As The Namibian’s news editor Esther Mbathera said, while he handled basic official statements and presidential communications, his “aggressive style of dealing with the media made it very hard for him to communicate with the public.” Yanna Smith, news editor at Cosmos Radio, describes him as “not approachable – way too arrogant for that” and “not a relationship builder”. This ultimately meant that critical information and the administration’s narrative struggled to gain traction.The culmination of these strained relationships saw journalists from various news organisations publicly calling for President Hage Geingob to discipline Hengari in 2020.
This unprecedented move stemmed from Hengari’s exclusionary tactics, selectively releasing information, and allegedly interfering with editorial content at the NBC. His dismissive labelling of journalists as “WhatsApp warriors” further exemplified his defensiveness and arrogance, according to Mbathera.
Others expressed relief that his tendency to instruct his favourites in newsrooms directly, bypassing senior newsroom staff, will end. His interference in the NBC 20h00 news lineup, demanding unedited clips of President Geingob be run, further underscored his heavy-handed approach.
WEIGHTLESSNESS OF INFLUENCE
Under the previous administration, attempts to influence public opinion through presidential “think pieces” and opinions by various Statehouse senior staff and ministers were often seen as professionally lightweight and ultimately ineffective. These efforts were often employed not to set the agenda or proactively inform the public but rather to defend controversial pronouncements or decisions made by the Executive. And these were usually published long after that particular storm had blown over and were, therefore, counterproductive.
The “think pieces” authored by Hengari, while perhaps entertaining to some in the media due to their defensive nature, largely had zero use or impact. They were perceived as reactive rather than strategic, failing to genuinely influence public discourse. Similarly, the previous administration’s crude attempts to influence public opinion by having a loosely selected coterie of Executive members write and widely distributed opinion pieces were met with regular head-shaking from media professionals. These pieces, often coming too late, ultimately reinforced a perception of an administration constantly on the back foot.
In 2020, Hengari riled up the public for saying peaceful demonstrations against the killing of Namibians by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) were “pointless and wholly misplaced” because Geingob was already fully seized with the matter. His utterances further fuelled anger towards the Presidency, which was already perceived as insensitive towards the issue and further refused to accept a petition by the demonstrators, citing security reasons.
Indeed, the World Press Freedom Index noted Hengari as hindering press freedom.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), cited the presidential spokesperson for his “verbal attacks” on journalists.
While Namibia largely maintained the top spot in Africa over the years, in 2018 Namibia held the 23rd position in the global index, plummeting to 34th out of 180 countries in 2025.
This clearly indicates that his conduct was seen by international observers as detrimental to press freedom.
Smith further said, “He was a messenger and behaved more like a publicist – protecting especially Geingob and lashing out at the media”.
His inability or unwillingness to answer the media’s questions to the presidency in a meaningful way, is said to have directly contributed to the government losing popularity if you consider President Geingob winning 86% of the vote in 2014 and only 56% in the 2019 presidential election.
Dwight Links sarcastically scores him a “20 out of 10,” highlighting the perceived disconnect.
TOWN HALL TWADDLE
President Geingob’s town hall meetings in 2015, while outwardly presenting a picture of positive public engagement, ultimately served as a “shiny beacon” to showcase public engagement rather than a genuine platform to hear and solve public issues. While the visual of the President engaging citizens across all 14 regions was a positive step towards transparency, the perception amongst many was that these events were more about performance than substantive dialogue. Tangible actions directly stemming from public input at these forums were often elusive, further contributing to the communication breakdown.In mid-2019, Geingob, accompanied by ministers, deputy ministers, advisors, executive directors, and other senior officials, again toured the country’s 14 regions to “account for progress” the administration has made since the last town hall meetings in 2015.
Geingob had to defend accusations that the town hall meetings were just for show and for officials to collect travelling allowances.
But even these crude and ineffective methods have seemingly disappeared in the current administration, leaving a communications void.
VOID
The lethargic political communications during President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s first 100 days have led to a fear that the administration is communications-averse. Under Hengari’s acting stewardship since NNN’s inauguration, this strategic communications chasm has deepened. This camera-ready but content-shy administration’s lack of ideological clarity manifests in tentative communications, a far cry from the crisp, professional and proactive engagement expected of a modern democratic leader. The now regular overall and hard hat-wearing Executive has done nothing to hear from the people apart from Veikko Nekundi hanging around outside Natis in Windhoek’s Northern Industrial area. The public is left wondering about the president’s opinions on daily matters, such as the cost of transport or locally produced chicken.
Candidate NNN, who visited every traditional authority, even the ones not recognised by the government, has not had a meaningful public engagement where the average Namibian can stand and address the head of State on matters they deem urgent and important.
We are too few to not consider it.
This pervasive communications aversion, with communications messages of congratulations or condolences sent days late, poses a significant threat to democratic accountability and citizen engagement.
In the vacuum created by official silence, speculation and misinformation thrive, eroding public trust. The inability of the Presidency’s communications office to establish an efficient and responsive mechanism for public discourse, with queries from the media gathering dust, fosters an environment of opacity.
This insular approach comes from the ruling party whose communications division is an afterthought that’s still caught in 1980s cloak-and-dagger type comms, or broadcasting, opposed to genuine engagement.
A cursory glance at the ruling party’s social media accounts shows how Swapo fails to express itself on any of the issues of the day, and its presence online amounts to an engagement desert.
The government’s good governance, transparency, and accountability wins are severely undermined by these ineffective communication attempts and structures. The single notable press conference held by President Nandi-Ndaitwah in her tenure – to deny anger with party secretary general Sophia Shaningwa – starkly illustrates a missed opportunity to address pressing national concerns and a clear misunderstanding of freedom of expression and where that sits in a thriving democracy. Her response to the NBC’s Anna Nikodemus appearing on a South African TV channel, condemning her rather than defending her right to speak, further highlights a communication style that appears to prefer control over open dialogue.
THE NEWS
The appointment of Jonas Mbambo as Press Secretary, ending Hengari’s tenure, brings a potential turning point. Mbambo, once wrapped over the knuckles by his bosses at NBC for cosigning a letter asking President Geingob to discipline Hengari, now takes the helm. Although a junior at the time, “the face of the corporation” was summoned to a meeting and scolded for daring to side with his media colleagues against Hengari’s tactics. His genuine relationships in the media, experience as a media professional, and ability to communicate to a younger audience likely secured him the job.
Mbambo’s task is to professionalise the Presidency’s communications, making it more approachable, less stiff and formal but with a clear message in mind.
This means moving beyond typo-riddled press statements on the Presidency’s WhatsApp group and quickly recalling them. He must concentrate on establishing clear, consistent, and proactive communication and will have to deal with criticism in a professional manner. This includes regular, unscripted press conferences, consistent digital engagement, and a genuinely open-door policy for media enquiries.
The rise of Job Amupanda as a whistle-blower and Inna Hengari as an efficient, effective and popular member of parliament are good examples for the Presidency’s communications people when they wonder about the power of constant, targeted messaging.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration can learn from their success if they are serious about dragging their communications into the 21st century and embracing business unusual.
The full and immediate implementation of the Access to Information Act must be prioritised, as its delay is a significant blight on press freedom. Its implementation would signal a conviction in the administration’s commitment to truly empower the public through unfettered access.
Namibians must be consulted and genuinely be listened to in this new era.
