No ID at 97 …the story of invincible Christine Kankara

ONGWEDIVA – Over five decades after settling in Namibia, 97-year-old Christine Kapako Kankara is still without a national identity document.

Living in a remote Kavango West village, she also struggles to access life-sustaining mental health treatment because her family cannot afford transport.

Kankara has lived in Namibia since 1972 after moving from Angola, yet she has never received a Namibian identity document. Without one, she cannot access an old-age grant or other government assistance available to elderly citizens.

“We have tried to get her national documents. They took her fingerprints and sent us to the traditional authorities, but up to now she still does not have any documents,” her son, Johannes Ihemba Nyundu, said.

The family said Kankara previously held South African documents, but these never resulted in her being registered as a Namibian citizen.

Today, she depends entirely on her 52-year-old son, who is unemployed and cares for her full-time in Gcigco village in the Ncuncuni constituency.

Her story reflects the challenges many elderly rural residents face in accessing healthcare, documentation and social protection.

Hope