Citizen Engagement Citizen Citizen Engagement Politics and Digital Media in Namibia Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka Panduleni Sadrag and Digital Media in Namibia Politics Politics and Digital Media in Namibia Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka Citizen Engagement Politics and Digital Media in Namibia Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka This research was funded through a PhD scholarship of the University of Namibia (UNAM). ISBN/EAN: 978-90-76665-65-8 Publisher: Erasmus Research Center for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC), ERMeCC Dissertation series no.17 Lay-out: RON Graphic Power, www.ron.nu Printed by: ProefschriftMaken || www.proefschriftmaken.nl © 2019 Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any mean without prior permission by the author Citizen Engagement Politics and Digital Media in Namibia Betrokken burgers Politiek en digitale media in Namibië Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the rector magnificus Prof. dr. R.C.M.E. Engels and in accordance with the decision of the Doctorate Board. The public defence shall be held on Thursday 5 December 2019 at 13.30 hrs by Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka born in Eembaxu, Namibia Doctoral Committee: Promotors: Prof. dr. M.S.S.E. Janssen Prof.dr. P. Arora Other members: Prof. dr. J.J. Jansz Prof. dr. M.A. Salih Dr. W. Willems Acknowledgements I would like to thank my doctoral daily supervisor, Dr. Payal Arora, for her inspiration, guidance, kindness, and positive attitude towards my research. Equally, my doctoral promoter, Professor Susanne Janssen, deserves my full gratitude for her tireless effort in proofreading and reviewing earlier versions of this dissertation. At Erasmus University Rotterdam, Ms Evelien Meeuwisse in the Media and Communication Department and Ms Eveline Stoker in the International Relations Department played a major role in making the administrative and logistical arrangements that permitted my frequent travels and stays in the Netherlands. I am very thankful to both of them. At the other end – the Center for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Namibia (UNAM) – Professor Marius Hedimbi, the Center’s current director, and Ms Nambata Namweya and Ms Sophia Itoolwa played a corresponding role in securing the financial and administrative support that I needed for my studies. They have my deepest gratitude. I am also grateful to Dr Cornelia N. Shimwooshili-Shaimemanya, former director of postgraduate studies at UNAM, and to Dr Miriam Hamunyela, former head of the Department of Lifelong Learning and Community Education in the Faculty of Education at UNAM, for their unwavering support during my period of study. Credit must also be given to the Ohangwena Regional Youth Forum members, particularly to Ms Olivia Valungameka, who took part in the interviews and focus group discussions. The young people from the constituencies of Omundaungilo, Ondobe, and Oshikango deserve special thanks for their accommodating attitude and courageous moral support. I am deeply thankful to the Ohangwena Regional Council management team, to all the regional councillors, to Ms Ndahafa Hauwanga at the Eenhana UNAM Regional Center, to Professor Johannes Peyavali Sheefeni, to Mr Justus P. S. Namhindo, to Mr Malakia Nghuumbwa, to Ms Selma Alfeus, to the Staff Development Section at UNAM, particularly Mrs Florence Katuuo, and to all those who, directly or indirectly, provided assistance in any way. May God bless them all. Additionally, a big thank you to Manuela Tecusan for professionally copy-editing this dissertation. Finally, I wish to thank my two office colleagues, Dr Amanda Paz and Dr Jay Lee, other PhD club members, and members of the Erasmus Research Center for Media and Communication for their positive comments, advice, and moral support during my stay at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Sadrag Panduleni Shihomeka, 2019 v Declaration I, SADRAG PANDULENI SHIHOMEKA, do hereby declare that this PhD dissertation is the result of my own investigation and research and that it has not been submitted in part or full for any other degree or to any other University or College. Where the work of other authors has been used, it has duly been acknowledged. 26 June 2019 Signature Date vi Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my late mother, Ndaitavela Ndatunga-eumbo Shafuda vii List of Acronyms ACM Association of Computing Machinery AU African Union BEd Bachelor of Education COD Congress of Democrats CRO chief regional officer CYF constituency youth forum ECN Electoral Commission of Namibia FGD focus group discussion HIV human immunodeficiency virus ICT information communication and technologies IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IMTE Integrated Media and Technology for Adult Education IOL Institute for Open Learning IPPR Institute of Public Policy and Research IT information technology ITU International Telecommunication Union IWS Internet World Statistics LA local authority MBA Master of Business Administration MP member of parliament NAMCOL Namibian College for Open Learning NBC Namibia Broadcasting Corporation NGO non-governmental organization NID Namibia Institute for Democracy NSA Namibia Statistic Agency NSHR National Society for Human Rights NUDO National Democratic Union OCR Ohangwena Community Radio ORYF Ohangwena Regional Youth Forum RC regional council RDP Rally for Democracy and Progress RYF regional youth forum SMS short messaging services SWABC South West Broadcasting Corporation SWAPO South West People’s Organization TV television UNAM University of Namibia UN-DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs viii List of Tables Table 2.1 Percentages of the population aged 3+ with access to ICTs in 2011 (by type of service and geographic area). From NSA, 2014: 47. 31 Table 2.2 Online presence of Namibia’s political parties. From IPPR, 2014: 3. 32 Table 4.1 Distribution of communication assets in Ohangwena by household, in 2011. From NSA, 2014: 120. 67 Table 7.1 Youth forums in Ohangwena and their Facebook presence from 2016 on. From various Facebook pages in 2016. 130 ix List of Figures Figure 2.1 Namibian population: Internet and social media profile. From IPPR, 2015a: 4. 34 Figure 2.2 Statistics of Facebook users in Namibia during the months of April, May, and June 2015. From All in 1 Social, 20 June 2015. 35 Figure 3.1 Regional map of Ohangwena and the population in each of its constituencies. From NSA 2014: ii 54 Figure 3.2 Access to ICT facilities in Ohangwena in 2011. From NSA 2014: 19. 55 x Table of contents Acknowledgements v Declaration vi Dedication vii List of Acronyms viii List of Tables ix List of Figures x Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Understanding Political Participation and Digital Media: A Global North Perspective 3 1.3 The Global South: Young People, Politics, and Digital Media 4 1.4 Why Study Young People’s Mobile Political Participation? 5 1.5 African Perspectives on Political Participation and Digital Citizenship 7 1.6 Research Questions 9 1.7 Research Plan and Methods 10 1.7.1 Research Design 10 1.7.2 Research Ethics 10 1.7.3 Dissertation Overview 10 Chapter 2 Theoretical Perspectives on the Role of Mobile Phones in Youth Political Integration 15 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 The Public Sphere Theory and the Emergence of a Virtual Sphere Theory 16 2.3 Shifting Notions of Citizenship in the Digital Age 19 2.4 Activism Defined 21 2.5 Political and Digital Activism 22 2.6 E-Governance and Direct Inclusive Democracy in the Global South 23 2.7 Political Participation and New Media 27 xi 2.7.1 Political Engagement in Africa 27 2.7.2 Uses of New Media in African Politics 27 2.8 Namibia, New Media, and Political Engagement 29 2.8.1 Demographical Overview 29 2.8.2 The Postcolonial Legacy and the Media 31 2.8.3 Political Parties and Social Media 32 2.9 Namibian Young Citizens and Social Media 33 2.10 Conclusion 36 Chapter 3 Methodology 39 3.1 Introduction 40 3.2 Qualitative Research Design and Exploratory Strategy 40 3.3 Data Collection Instruments 42 3.3.1 Ethnographic Participant Observation 43 3.3.2 Semi-Structured Interviews 45 3.3.3 Qualitative Facebook, Mobile Phone, and WhatsApp Pages Content Analysis 48 3.3.4 Focus Group Discussions 50 3.3.5 Thematic Data Analysis 51 3.4 The Context of the Study 53 3.5 Conclusion 58 3.5.1 Summary: Highlights 58 3.5.2 Summary: Timeline 59 Chapter 4 Old and New Media 63 4.1 Introduction 64 4.2 Hybrid and Transmedia Storytelling 65 4.3 Namibia’s Media Landscape 66 4.4 Youth Access to Old and New Media in the Ohangwena Region 66 4.5 Analysis and Findings 68 4.5.1 Public Radio Less Popular for Political Engagement 68 4.5.2 Television a Luxury Medium for Rural Youth Politics 73 4.5.3 Newspapers as Tools for Updating Young People’s Current Affairs and Employ­ment Opportunities 74 4.5.4 Are New Media Taking Over the Role of Traditional Media for Democratic Citizenship? 77 4.6 Conclusion 79 xii Chapter 5 Offline and Online Political Networks 83 5.1 Introduction 84 5.2 Political Participation Landscape 87 5.3 Youth Political Participation and Civic Engagement in Namibia 90 5.4 Findings and Analysis 91 5.4.1 Political Platforms for Youth Employment, Political Dialogue, and Survival Politics 92 5.4.2 Online and Offline Politics 93 5.4.3 Perspectives on Political Participation in the Public Sphere 94 5.4.4 Political Ideologies, Family Politics, and Constitutional Obligations 95 5.4.5 Communication and Mobile Connectivity 96 5.4.6