Outjo

---

title: "Outjo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-in-namibia", "populated-places-established-in-1897", "1897-establishments-in-german-south-west-africa", "populated-places-in-the-kunene-region"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outjo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Outjo
native_name
settlement_type	City
motto
image_skyline	Outjo (2018).jpg
image_caption	Aerial view of Outjo (2018)
image_seal	Wappen Outjo - Namibia.jpg
pushpin_map	Namibia
pushpin_label_position	bottom
pushpin_mapsize	300
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Namibia
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Namibia
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Kunene Region
subdivision_type2	Constituency
subdivision_name2	Outjo Constituency
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	I. Katambo
Joseph Urib{{Cite web	url
leader_title1
established_title
established_date	1897
unit_pref
area_total_km2	97.9
area_land_km2
population_as_of	2023 census
population_footnotes
population_total	15,063
timezone	SAST
utc_offset	+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
blank_name	Climate
blank_info	BSh
::

| name = Outjo | other_name = | native_name = | nickname = | settlement_type = City | motto = | image_skyline = Outjo (2018).jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Aerial view of Outjo (2018) | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = Wappen Outjo - Namibia.jpg | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_type = | blank_emblem_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Namibia | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Namibia | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Namibia | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Kunene Region | subdivision_type2 = Constituency | subdivision_name2 = Outjo Constituency | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_party = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = I. Katambo Joseph Urib | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | established_title = | established_date = 1897 | area_magnitude = | unit_pref = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 97.9 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2023 census | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 15,063 | population_density_km2 = | population_density_sq_mi = | population_metro = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | population_density_urban_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = | population_blank1 = | population_density_blank1_km2 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi = | timezone = SAST | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | coordinates = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = BSh | blank1_name = | blank1_info = | website = | footnotes =

Outjo (Otjiherero: small hills) is a town{{cite web |url=http://www.alan.org.na/?q=localauthorities/list |title=Local Authorities |publisher=Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN) |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610203011/http://www.alan.org.na/?q=localauthorities%2Flist |archive-date=10 June 2013 |url-status=dead |url=http://www.outjo.com/ |title=Outjo - town in Namibia |publisher=namibweb.com |access-date=27 September 2011}}

Overview

The town was founded by Germans under the command of Colonel Theodor von Leutwein in 1897 as a small military base in order to explore the northern area of German South West Africa. The local historical museum (Franke Haus Museum) details the campaign of Major Viktor Franke in Ovamboland.

The "Naulila monument" commemorates the small expedition on the Portuguese fort of Naulila in Angola by Major Viktor Franke in October 1914 following the massacre of a German delegation which had been sent to negotiate a treaty of non-aggression. It is one of the fastest developing towns in the Kunene Region.

South of Outjo is the Ugab River, one of the major rivers of Namibia. The town lies near Gamkarab Cave, known for its stalactites and stalagmites and its pietersite. The caves are on private ground and not open to the public.

Politics

Outjo is governed by a municipal council that has seven seats.

Since the independence of the country, Outjo is the only small town in the Kunene Region controlled by the ruling party "SWAPO". The 2015 local authority election was won by SWAPO which gained four seats (1,307 votes). Two seats went to the United Democratic Front (UDF, 706 votes), and the remaining seat was won by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) with 381 votes. SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election but lost majority control over the municipal council. It obtained 872 votes and three seats. One seat each went to the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 501 votes), the UDF (392 votes), the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM, the new name of the DTA, 307 votes), and the Monitor Action Group (MAG, 161 votes).

Administration

As of 2025, the town has not yet appointed a Chief Executive Officer following the term of Josef Urib, who was CEO for over two decades. Although the town has been searching for a new CEO since 2024, Tjipura Immanuel acted in that role for the remainder of 2024. As 2025 began, Jaco Labuschagne took over as the acting CEO. On 5 December 2025, Bartholomeus Aibeb was sworn in as mayor.

Transport

Situated on the C38 - 90 km southwest of the Anderson Gate - Outjo is the gateway to the Etosha National Park. Damaraland can be reached by travelling through Outjo on the C39 to Khorixas and the C40 towards Kamanjab leads to the Kaokoveld.

Outjo has an airstrip about 10 km out of town that can accommodate small fixed-winged planes. Outjo is the terminus of a branch railway of the Namibian railway system, but there is no railway service .

Schools

Within the town limits of Outjo are three primary schools and two secondary schools as well as a combined private school.

• Jack Francis Primary School
• Maarssen Primary School
• Outjo Primary School
• Moria Private School
• Etoshapoort Junior Secondary School
• Outjo Secondary School

The following schools are located in the vicinity of the town:

• Otjikondo School Village & Primary School (about 85 kilometers northwest of the city)
• St. Michael Roman-Catholic Primary School (about 70 kilometers northwest of the city)

Tourist attractions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Namibia-061026_174435.jpg" caption="''Vingerklip'' near Outjo"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/A_water_tower_built_by_Germans.jpg"] ::

Outjo offers some sights, but it is above all an important tourist transit and supply point. In 2006, more than 22,000 tourists were counted per month. Attractions in and around Outjo include:

• Franke-Haus-Museum
• Naulila monument
• The Water Tower Outjo, which was originally equipped with a wooden wind turbine and used for water extraction.
• Vingerklip (its mostly used Afrikaans name) - a fingerlike rock formation created through erosion
• The Ugab Terraces
• The Petrified Forest
• Twyfelfontein
• The Burnt Mountain

References

References

1. "Outjo Municipality".
2. "Former Outjo CEO challenges termination of contract".
3. "Table 4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)". Namibia Statistics Agency.
4. "2023 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Report".
6. (1995). "Ephemeral rivers and their catchments: Sustaining people and development in western Namibia". Desert Research Foundation of Namibia.
7. (2015). "Know Your Local Authority". Institute for Public Policy Research.
8. (28 November 2015). "Local elections results". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].
9. (29 November 2020). "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats". [[Electoral Commission of Namibia]].
10. "LPM wants Outjo CEO sacked {{!}} nbc".
11. info_e12wt4cs. (2024-07-22). "Outjo municipality re-advertise CEO position – News Stand".
12. Mbathera, Ester. (2023-10-24). "Former Outjo CEO challenges termination of contract".
13. "Outjo Municipality - Tourism".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::