Has The Newly Sworn-in President of Namibia Ordered The Deportation Of 500 Americans?
On April 16, 2025, a Facebook user made a claim that the Namibian president had ordered the deportation of 500 Americans in response to Trump's deportation operations, targeting Africans mostly.
The post which has the image of Namibian president, Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and that of U.S. President, Donald Trump, was captioned: “Namibian first female president has ordered deportation of 500 Americans in response to Trump's deportation operations targetting Africans mostly. She says if you can't enter America without a Visa then same applies to Namibia, No American should enter Namibia without a Visa, and infact she has doubled the Visa fee for Americans. On the other hand she said no African should seek for a Visa to visit Namibia, she added that African nations should love each other and visit each other without Visa requirements, Visa was a tool invented by the whites to control Africans from pursuing their stolen natural resources abroad , let's now use visa requirements to block them from coming back to exploit more of our natural resources especially the minerals. What do you think about the direction, Is it a wake up call for Africa?”
The post had a total of 4 comments, likes and shares as of the time this report was published. Similar claims have also been found on different social media platforms like this YouTube video, this Facebook post and this Instagram post.
VERIFICATION
Namibia was previously visa-free for U.S. citizens as well as other European countries, but this changed on April 1, 2025. American travellers now need to obtain a visa before entering Namibia. This is due to Namibia’s policy of reciprocity, where they require visas from countries that also require visas for Namibian citizens. The United States and the United Kingdom are among the 32 countries whose citizens are now required to obtain a visa in order to travel to Namibia.
The decision was taken by the Namibian parliament in July 2024, but the policy took effect on April 1, 2025, shortly after the country inaugurated its fifth president, Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, on March 25, 2025.
The American embassy in Namibia has since updated its website to reflect the new visa policy, which lists out requirements needed for visa application into Namibia.The embassy of Namibia and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security also rolled out the list of countries affected by the new policy.
Meanwhile, Dr. Audjin Mathe of the Namibian Ministry of Information, also stated that countries that give free access to Namibia will also have free access into their country. Therefore, there is no indication of any mass deportation order targeting U.S. citizens as this was not officially announced by the Government of Namibia or the country’s Ministry of Information. The Namibian government only implemented a new policy requiring that European travellers get a visa to enter Namibia as against the country’s previous visa-free policy for U.S citizens and other European countries.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the Namibian president had ordered the deportation of 500 Americans in response to Trump’s deportation operations, targeting mostly Africans, is FALSE. Search results revealed that no official announcement was made regarding the alleged deportation of 500 U.S. citizens.
