A politician named Adolf Hitler is set to win another local election in Namibia comfortably. Yes, you read that correctly. And no, the name is not a stage persona, parody candidate, or internet stunt. It belongs to Adolf Hitler Uunona, a 59-year-old local politician whose very ordinary political career continues to collide with one of the most infamous names in history.
As Uunona prepares to retain his seat on 26 November, the global response has ranged from mild confusion to full-blown alarm bells. But the man at the centre of the headline insists the story is far less sinister than it sounds.
Who is Adolf Hitler Uunona?
Uunona represents the left-wing Swapo party in northern Namibia, where he previously secured a landslide win with 85 per cent of the vote in 2020. His name first attracted worldwide attention after that victory and understandably led to a lot of questions.
According to Uunona, his father simply did not understand the gravity of naming a child ‘Adolf Hitler,’ nor the horrors associated with it. In a past interview, the politician said he grew up believing it was just a normal name, only later realising the historical weight attached to it.
‘I have nothing to do with any of these things,’ he told the media, distancing himself entirely from the Nazi dictator. Even so, he keeps the name in official documents, calling it ‘too late’ to change. His wife calls him Adolf, but publicly, he avoids using the full name.
In Namibia, once under German colonial rule, the name Adolf isn’t unusual, though Hitler definitely is. And it hasn’t helped that in 2020, a car in his region displaying the name ‘Adolf Hitler’ next to a swastika went viral online. Uunona denied owning it or having any connection to what he called a ‘sick stunt.’
Why His Re-Election Feels Surreal to the Rest of the World
On paper, Uunona is simply a local politician doing his job. But his name inevitably changes how the story lands internationally. It forces people to confront an uncomfortable thought experiment: What if you had to go through life with a name synonymous with one of history’s greatest villains? Would anything from friendships to job opportunities be the same?
That exact question is explored in Matt Ogens’ 2014 documentary ‘Meet the Hitlers,’ which profiles people around the world who share the name, either by accident or by choice. Some are ordinary individuals carrying an unfortunate legacy; others deliberately adopted the name for extremist reasons.
What the film reveals is that identity, self-perception, and confidence heavily influence how each person copes.
Ogens says the topic is inherently strange and emotionally complicated. For many with the name, life is a constant obstacle course of judgment, crank calls, wrong assumptions, and uncomfortable introductions. As one subject put it: ‘A name is just a name. It doesn’t define your heart.’ True, but it certainly raises eyebrows, especially when it appears on an election ballot.
No, He’s Not A Nazi
Given Uunona’s insistence that he has no ties, ideological or otherwise, to the dictator he shares a name with, the answer appears to be no. There’s no evidence suggesting extremist leanings, hidden agendas, or anything beyond a deeply unfortunate naming choice made decades ago.
The real concern, if any, is symbolic. Moments like this expose how names carry cultural weight, historical memory, and emotional reactions far beyond their literal meaning. According to reports, Uunona may be nothing like the man whose name he bears, but every election cycle, he is reminded that the world never forgets.
And so, as Namibia heads to the polls again, Adolf Hitler Uunona’s victory is seemingly secured not because of his name, but despite it.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
