Introduction
In April 2026, International Rivers facilitated a site visit to the Kunene Region in Namibia where the Namibian and Angolan governments are planning to construct the Baynes Hydropower Project on the Kunene River, as well as to locations expected to be submerged by the project’s water reservoir. The delegation was led by Namibia’s Ombudsman Advocate Basilius Dyakugha, following a formal complaint submitted to the Ombudsman in April 2024 by Chief Mutaambanda Kapika and Chief Kapirurua Muhenje on behalf of their communities.
The delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), the Environmental Commissioner, and the National Heritage Council (NHC), alongside International Rivers. Meetings were held in Omuhonga and Orukaue, where communities who would be affected by the project had an opportunity to directly engage with these officials.
More than 600 OvaHimba and OvaTjimba community members gathered in Omuhonga, hoping to receive responses to their concerns.
The Baynes Hydropower Project
The Baynes Hydropower Project is a proposed 840 MW dam on the Lower Kunene River, a joint initiative between Namibia’s NamPower and Angola’s Rede Nacional de Transporte de Electricidade (RNT-EP). Planned for construction in the Baynes Mountains within the Epupa Constituency, the project forms part of broader efforts to increase energy generation in the region.
In addition to the main dam and a regulating dam, the project would involve the construction of transmission lines and access roads, as well as the creation of a large reservoir expected to flood approximately 40 km² of land. The dam is also likely to significantly reduce river flow downstream, with negative impacts on communities that depend on the Kunene River for water and livelihoods.
Overall, the project is expected to substantially alter the river system, with impacts extending beyond the immediate dam site to downstream communities, such as those in the Marienfluss area.
Legal Frameworks and Institutional Mandates
Several government institutions play key roles in overseeing the Baynes Hydropower Project:
- The Lower Cunene Hydropower Authority is a bilateral body established by Namibia and Angola to develop and implement hydropower projects on the Lower Kunene River, including the Baynes Dam.
- The Ombudsman is mandated under the Constitution and Ombudsman’s Act (1990) to investigate issues of human rights, environmental protection, and mal-administration.
- The Environmental Commissioner, under the Environmental Management Act (2007), oversees Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and ensures that affected communities are identified and consulted.
- The National Heritage Council, under the National Heritage Act (2004), safeguards cultural and heritage resources through Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA).
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAFWL), under the Water Resources Management Act (2013), regulates water use and must ensure that traditional community rights are considered.
Together, the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), the National Heritage Council (NHC), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAFWL) play complementary oversight and regulatory roles in ensuring that development projects such as the Baynes Dam comply with environmental, social, and heritage laws, and that affected communities are appropriately consulted and protected.
Community Concerns
While some communities in the area support the project, particularly those under the gazetted Chief Hikumine Kapika of the Kapika Traditional Authority, based near the proposed dam site in Orukaue, the majority of nomadic communities in the Epupa area, who reside within the wider Baynes Dam reservoir area, oppose the project and are calling for their right to be meaningfully consulted. This disparity was evident during the meeting in Omuhonga, where more than 600 people expressed opposition to the dam, compared to a smaller group of approximately 70 supporters from Orukaue.
Photo credit: International Rivers
At the meeting, Senior Councillor Mutambo highlighted concerns about political pressure and public misrepresentation, stating that the Government has falsely claimed that all communities support the project.
“The Governor goes on OshiHerero NBC national radio and claims that all community members are in favour of the dam, while ignoring our requests to meet and raise our concerns about the Baynes project. The Governor’s office has now become a source of intimidation for us,” he said.
Another chief recalled incidents where community members convened meetings to discuss the Baynes project and were disrupted by police, who reportedly declared the gatherings unlawful and ordered them to disperse.
These communities therefore challenge the legitimacy of the consultation process, noting that engagement has largely been limited to the gazetted Traditional Authority that supports the project, while they themselves have not been consulted.
The Ombuka-Kapika and Tjizapundu Traditional Authorities raised concerns about their potential displacement as Indigenous communities, the loss of their ancestral land, grazing areas, cattle posts, and homesteads, the disruption of the Kunene River ecosystem and biodiversity loss. In addition, they are concerned about the inundation of their ancestral grave sites, which, in OvaHimba culture, also function as a land certificate. Further concerns relate to the potential erosion of their cultural heritage, as well as social impacts associated with an influx of outside workers, including public health risks.
These concerns have been strongly emphasised by community leaders, including Chief Mutaambanda Kapika of the Omuhonga area, who is a brother to Hikuminue Kapika of the Kapika Traditional Authority.
Furthermore, the chiefs emphasised that while the dam may generate economic opportunities and benefits for others, their communities are unlikely to share in these gains. Drawing on experiences from other dam projects, they expressed concern that they will bear the social and environmental costs, face increased economic hardship as their livelihoods are disrupted without receiving corresponding benefits.
At the meeting in Omuhonga, Senior Traditional Councillor Mutjimbika Mutambo of the Ombuka-Kapika Traditional Authority stated:
You are using our land, yet the Government is not supporting our youth to access education or training opportunities. For years, we have heard about this dam, but no meaningful support has been provided to help advance our education.
It is important to highlight that communities living downstream of the dam, such as those in the Marienfluss area, are even more difficult to reach and will require targeted and deliberate efforts to ensure meaningful consultation. The impacts on these communities are likely to differ significantly from those experienced by communities near the dam reservoir, as their lifeline, the Kunene River, will potentially carry so little water that human habitation and livelihood will not be sustained.
Next Steps
The Ombudsman assured communities that due process would be followed. However, communities stress that consultation must go beyond a “tick-box” exercise. They insist that the consultation process must ensure they are provided with clear, accessible information in their own languages, consultations are inclusive of all affected communities, including those in remote downstream areas such as Marienfluss, that communities can genuinely influence decisions and consent must be given freely and without coercion. Without this, the project risks causing irreversible social, cultural, and environmental harm.
Conclusion
The visit highlighted a clear message from affected communities, that development cannot come at the expense of inclusion, transparency, and rights.
For the Baynes Hydropower Project to proceed responsibly, authorities must ensure that all voices are heard and that consultation processes are fair and conducted in good faith.