Bernadus Swartbooi
Leader and Chief Change Campaigner of the Landless People's Movement
Assumed office
16 June 2018
Deputy Minister of Lands and Resettlement
In office
21 September 2015 – 4 December 2016
PresidentHage Geingob
Prime MinisterSaara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Succeeded byPriscilla Merjam Boois
Personal details
Born (1977-10-11) 11 October 1977 (age 46)
Tses, South West Africa (now Namibia)
Political partyLPM (since 2017)
SWAPO
SpouseMoetie Swartbooi
Alma materUniversity of Namibia

Bernadus Clinton Swartbooi (born 11 October 1977) is a Namibian politician.

Swartbooi was a Governor of the ǁKaras Region before being appointed as Namibia's deputy minister of lands and resettlement in 2015 by President Hage Geingob, a position he subsequently was forced to resign from in January 2017.[1][2] On 27 July 2017, Swartbooi was removed from Parliament and resigned from SWAPO. In 2016 he formed the Landless People's Movement.

Swartbooi attended secondary school at Suiderlig Senior Secondary School in Keetmanshoop. While at studying at the University of Namibia, he served as the Secretary General for Namibia National Students Organisation and later its president.

Swartbooi worked as a prosecutor in Tsumeb and Khorixas and served as special assistant at the office of the Prime Minister. Swartbooi holds a Basic Education Teaching Diploma from Windhoek College of Education (now University of Namibia Khomasdal Campus) and B juris as well as Bachelor of Laws from the University of Namibia in 2001.[3]

Landless People's Movement

In 2017, after being fired by president Hage Geingob from his ministerial position, Swartbooi formed the Landless People's Movement (LPM), a new political party with the aim to bring about change in the country through equitable land redistribution. LPM advocates for distribution of ancestral land to Namibians whose land was dispossessed by German settlers in the 1900s.[4][5] He is the party's president and chief change campaigner.[6]

In the 2019 Namibian general election, Swartbooi ran as presidential candidate of the LPM. They gathered 2.7% and four seats in Parliament.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Geingob fires Swartbooi". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  2. ^ "President announces governors". The Namibian. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2019.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ https://www.namibian.com.na/159279/archive-read/Geingob-fires-Swartbooi Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine | Geingob fires Swartbooi - The Namibian
  5. ^ https://www.namibiansun.com/news/i-was-fired-by-thieves-swartbooi2018-03-23 | I was fired by thieves - Swartbooi - Politics - Namibian Sun
  6. ^ Namibian, The. "We will give them a tough time – Swartbooi". The Namibian. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  7. ^ Iikela, Sakeus (2 December 2019). "Reduced victory ... Swapo, Geingob drop votes". The Namibian. p. 1.
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