25 March 2025, Banjul, the Republic of The Gambia
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) celebrates the dawn of a new era in African governance with the historic inauguration of Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as Namibia's first female President on 21 March 2025, alongside Her Excellency Lucia Witbooi as the nation's first female Vice President.
This unprecedented dual achievement, complemented by a cabinet comprising 50% women, establishes Namibia as Africa's trailblazer in gender-balanced governance. The Commission recognizes this watershed moment as the continent's most significant advance in women's political leadership since adopting the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) in 2003.
The ACHPR's Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa notes that Namibia has achieved in one decisive moment what many nations have struggled with for decades:
- The first African country with both female President and Vice President
- One of only three African nations to achieve 50% female cabinet representation
- A leadership model that actualizes the Maputo Protocol's vision of equal participation
This is not merely progress - it's a revolution in governance. Namibia has rewritten Africa's political playbook by demonstrating that women's leadership is not about token representation but about transformational governance.
The Commission particularly applauds President Nandi-Ndaitwah's decisive implementation of gender parity, which:
- Places women at the helm of key ministries
- Creates critical mass for gender-sensitive policymaking
- Establishes a replicable model for other AU Member States
This achievement comes as the ACHPR marks the 25th anniversary of its Special Rapporteur mandate on women's rights and follows its 2022 fact-finding mission to Namibia, which identified the country's potential for leadership in gender equality.
The Commission urges all AU Member States to emulate Namibia's example by:
- Implementing constitutional reforms to enable women's leadership
- Establishing quotas for women's political participation
- Investing in leadership pipelines for aspiring female politicians
Namibia has proven that with political will, Africa can leapfrog generations of gradual progress. This is our continent's Mandela moment for gender equality.!
Honourable Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa of the ACHPR and Vice-Chairperson of the ACHPR
