Staff Reporter
NAMIBIA has recorded an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the country’s World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)-recognised FMD-free zone, after 10 of 11 cattle samples tested positive at a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District in the //Kharas Region.
Acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Dr Charles Mubita was due to make the announcement in the National Assembly today, 23 September 2026, but the ministerial statement was not read in full before the session went on break. Although he could not deliver the Ministerial Statement, Informanté News received a copy of the statement from an agricultural group.
Tinus Pretorius, President of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), urged farmers and the public to remain calm following reports of an FMD outbreak in southern Namibia. Pretorius said the Keetmanshoop livestock auction had been stopped by the Directorate of Veterinary Services and that investigations were currently underway.
According to the statement, Veterinary Services detected the suspected outbreak during routine disease surveillance. Samples were collected from 11 cattle showing clinical signs consistent with FMD on 22 September 2026 and analysed at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Windhoek. Ten of the 11 samples tested positive on Wednesday, confirming an active FMD outbreak within Namibia’s FMD-free zone.
Mubita’s announcement said the development had compelled the Ministry to immediately implement control measures under the Animal Health Act, No. 1 of 2011, to contain the outbreak.
The measures include the suspension of the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their products countrywide, as well as the suspension of imports and exports of all cloven-hoofed animals until further notice.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services is expected to issue a Veterinary Public Notification providing further details on the control measures.
The outbreak could have serious implications for the national economy and the livelihoods of Namibians due to the suspension of livestock and livestock-product marketing, both locally and internationally.
Mubita’s announcement assured the nation that the Ministry would work to contain the disease as quickly as possible and called for cooperation from government offices, ministries and agencies, the livestock industry, stakeholders, the public and other relevant institutions.
Restoring and normalising the marketing of livestock and livestock products would remain a priority in the response to the outbreak.
PDM Member of Parliament McHenry Venaani raised a point of order in the National Assembly, questioning why the Acting Minister of Agriculture had not proceeded with the planned ministerial statement on the reported FMD outbreak.
Venaani said he had seen reports on social media that Namibia had been affected by FMD and questioned whether the disease had been confirmed in the country.
Venaani called on the Acting Minister to clarify through the Speaker whether the reports of an FMD outbreak were true.
The Acting Minister of Agriculture, Dr Charles Mubita, did not answer and left his chair, but remained in the National Assembly.
Tinus Pretorius, President of the NAU, said an FMD outbreak could have serious implications for Namibia’s agricultural sector and the wider economy, particularly given the economic challenges facing the country.
He urged the public not to cause unnecessary panic while the matter was being properly investigated and veterinary officials establish the facts.
“We must remain calm and wait for the matter to be properly investigated and for the veterinarians to tell us what the situation is. Let us not create unnecessary panic, but remain calm while taking note of the potential danger,” Pretorius said.
He said the NAU hoped and prayed that the suspected case would ultimately prove to be a false alarm.
Photo: Contributed
