Namibia's first national anthem, albeit unofficial, was "" while under
German colonization as
German South-West Africa. After it became
South-West Africa as a
League of Nations mandate under the
Union of South Africa, the national anthem was changed to "
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" to match South Africa's. Following independence, "
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was provisionally adopted as a temporary national anthem pending the formal adoption of an official national anthem. It was later decided that Namibia needed a unique anthem, and a national competition was held to compose a new national anthem. The competition was won by Axali Doeseb with "Namibia, Land of the Brave". The anthem was first played in public in a ceremony on the first anniversary of Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1991. In 2006, Hamutenya claimed that he authored the lyrics himself, "on the plane to Cuba". Doëseb denied this claim. In 2023, politicians
Andrew Matjila and
Ben Amadhila supported Hamutenya's claim. == Legislation ==