🇳🇦NamibiaSouthern Africa
Namibian woman traces Kenyan roots via social media, fulfills lifelong dream
via The Namibian8 min read
Aska Ndategako Orlale, 32, recently fulfilled her dream of discovering her Kenyan roots and meeting her paternal relatives. Her journey to Kenya last month, made possible through tracing relatives on Facebook and X, coincided with the 24th anniversary of her late father, Kenneth Orlale. Her father, an English teacher, had moved from Nairobi to Windhoek before Namibia's independence in 1990, working under the United Nations Development Programme. He met Aska's mother, Hertha Kuume, in Namibia. Aska, a Namibian-Kenyan, traveled to Nairobi, where she was met by her uncles, Dan and Martin Orlale, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Her 14-day itinerary included visits to her father’s grave in Lambwe Valley, Homa Bay County, meeting his friends and former schoolmates, and addressing students at Kamato Mixed Secondary, a school her father started. She also enjoyed a game drive at Ruma National Park and a boat ride in Lake Victoria, visiting mausoleums of Kenyan freedom fighters. Aska's trip was an emotional journey of self-discovery, reminiscent of Alex Hailey's 'Roots' and Barack Obama's visits to his Kenyan fatherland.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Zambezi Exploration, a petroleum exploration licence holder, lost an urgent application in the Windhoek High Court regarding a petroleum exploration licence for block 2812A. The company claimed a rival, Vena Gemstones & Mining, was awarded the licence after intervention from State House. Acting judge David Mangota ruled that Zambezi Exploration's application did not meet the requirements for an urgent matter, stating that the urgency was self-created. Zambezi Exploration's chief executive, Risco Mutelo, alleged that the current minister of industries, mines and energy, Modestus Amutse, decided to grant Vena Gemstones & Mining the licence following a letter from State House in December last year, which he claimed instructed Amutse to proceed with issuing the licence to Vena Gemstones & Mining for block 2812Ab. Mutelo further claimed Amutse's decision was unlawful as no licence application from Vena Gemstones & Mining was pending at the time. Amutse filed a counter-application, asking the court to declare Zambezi Exploration's licence application lapsed in February, September, or November 2023, and to nullify all decisions made by then minister Tom Alweendo after Zambezi Exploration's application lapsed. Mangota noted that Zambezi Exploration was aware since January 2023 that Canadian Global Energy Corp relinquished its interest in block 2812Ab but did not apply for the licence itself, instead waiting until later to act. The court struck the application from the urgent roll and
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