Adolf Hitler Set to Win Local Election in Namibia

A Namibian politician—drawing global attention due to his name, identical to that of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler—is poised to win a local election on Wednesday, retaining his seat in the northern part of the country after previously securing 85% of the vote in 2020.
Adolf Hitler Uunona (59), a member of the SWAPO party municipal council, is widely expected to keep his seat, with early election results indicating a clear victory.
Uunona gained international attention in 2020 when he won the Ombundja constituency seat with 85% of the votes, receiving 1,196 votes compared to 213 for his rival. At the time, the constituency had only 2,520 registered voters, making his win decisive.
Despite his ongoing political career, global interest in Uunona has mostly centered on his name, identical to that of the infamous German dictator responsible for some of history’s worst atrocities.
In a 2020 interview with the German newspaper Bild, Uunona clarified that he has no ties to Nazi ideology, stating, “I have absolutely nothing to do with it.” He explained that perhaps his father did not understand what the name Adolf Hitler represented: “When I was young, I considered it just a normal name. I didn’t realize that this man wanted to conquer the entire world until I grew up. It has nothing to do with me.”
His wife calls him Adolf, but he generally avoids publicly mentioning “Hitler.” He has insisted on keeping his name, as it appears in all official documents, noting to Bild: “It’s too late to change it.”
As a former German colony, Namibia still retains many German place names, and traditional names like Adolf remain common.