A politician named after infamous German politician and leader Adolf Hitler has won a seat at a Namibian election – but says he has no plans for world domination.
Adolf Hitler Uunona, who was elected with 85 per cent of the vote told Bild that he had “nothing to do with” Nazi ideology. He won the seat on the ticket of the ruling SWAPO party – which has ruled Namibia since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
Namibia, a former German colony known as German South West Africa, is still home to a small German-speaking community and a number of streets, places and people still bear German names.
“My father named me after this man. He probably didn’t understand what Adolf Hitler stood for,” Uunona said.
“As a child, I saw it as a totally normal name. Only as a teenager did I understand that this man wanted to conquer the whole world.”
The politician said his wife calls him Adolf, adding that he usually goes by Adolf Uunona but that it would be “too late” to change his name officially.
“The fact I have this name does not mean I want to conquer Oshana,” he said, referring to the region where he won the election. “It doesn’t mean I’m striving for world domination.”
Uunona won 1,196 votes in the recent election compared to 213 for his opponent, returning him to a seat on the regional council which he previously won in 2015. His name was abbreviated to “Adolf H” in a list of candidates printed in a government gazette, but his name appeared in full on an official results website.
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