False! Namibian President is NOT deporting 500 Americans

There are viral news reports on the internet that the Namibian Presidency has issued an order for the deportation of 500 Americans in Namibia.

This claim, widely shared on social media in the form of artworks or flyers, claimed that Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said, “if Africans need visa to enter the USA, then Americans must also need visa to enter Namibia.”

Many accounts on YouTube have videos on this claim. Beyond social media, some blogs and media outlets have shared the news on their websites. 

In Ghana, the state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), also shared this claim on its Facebook page. This post got many Ghanaians talking, with some applauding the Namibian government for the decision. 

Namibia’s First Female President, Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah orders deportation of 500+ Americans, Citing Visa Reciprocity #NewsFlash pic.twitter.com/G2iYvCPRMh

— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) April 15, 2025

In this report, Fact-Check Ghana presents findings on the veracity of this claim. 

Claim: The Namibian President is deporting 500 Americans from Namibia 

Verdict: False

Explanation:

The Namibian government, on April 01, 2025, implemented a new visa policy which requires nationals of 33 countries, including the United States of America, to obtain a visa to enter Namibia.

“The Namibian Government’s decision to impose visa requirements for nationals of countries that have not granted reciprocal visa exemption to Namibian passport holders,” the Namibian Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said in a press statement on January 09, 2025, when it announced the policy. 

Nationals of the 33 countries can also apply for a visa upon arrival at specific ports in Namibia, the ministry said. 

Days after the policy was implemented on April 01, 2025, the viral claim of a mass deportation of Americans in Namibia started making rounds on social media.

However, the Namibian Presidency, in a post on X, refuted claims that it was deporting 500 US citizens from Namibia. The Presidency described the news as “fake news”

In a press release shared on its official X account, the Namibian Presidency said  the viral posts on the deportation of Americans “feature fabricated quotes and images containing misinformation and disinformation intended to tarnish the image of the President, the Namibian Government and to create potential diplomatic embarrassment.”

The Presidency further clarified that “no such order of deportation or statement has been issued by the President and no mass deportation of American nationals is underway.”

Therefore, claims that the Namibian government has ordered a mass deportation of Americans from its country are false.