Albert Kawana

The Honourable Albert Kawana MP
Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 April 2021
President	Hage Geingob Nangolo Mbumba
Preceded by	Frans Kapofi
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources
In office 13 November 2019 – 22 April 2021
President	Hage Geingob
Preceded by	Bernhard Esau
Succeeded by	Derek Klazen
Attorney general
In office 8 February 2018 – 21 March 2020
President	Hage Geingob
Preceded by	Sacky Shanghala
Succeeded by	Festus Mbandeka
Minister of Justice
In office 21 March 2015 – 8 February 2018
President	Hage Geingob
Preceded by	Utoni Nujoma
Succeeded by	Sacky Shanghala
In office 2003–2004
President	Sam Nujoma
Preceded by	Ngarikutuke Tjiriange
Succeeded by	Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana
Minister of Presidential Affairs
In office 21 March 2005 – 21 March 2015
President	Hifikepunye Pohamba
Succeeded by	Frans Kapofi
Deputy Minister of Justice
In office 2000–2003
President	Sam Nujoma
Personal details
Born	(1956-03-26) 26 March 1956 Katima Mulilo, South West Africa
Nationality	Namibian
Political party	SWAPO
Alma mater	University of Warwick
Occupation	Lawyer
Profession	Politician

Albert Kawana (born 26 March 1956) is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kawana has been a member of the National Assembly and cabinet since 2000, serving in various positions. Since April 2021 he has been minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security. A lawyer by training, Kawana led Namibia's legal team in the Kasikili Island dispute, which was argued before the International Court of Justice.

Early life and education

Kawana was born on 26 March 1956 at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region. He entered Namibian politics while in exile in Zambia. In 1979 he graduated from the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) with a diploma in Development Studies and Management. He moved on to the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, where he received his L.L.M. in 1983 and Ph.D. in 1988. Following graduation, Kawana moved back to Zambia, where he became a lecturer in the final years of UNIN from 1988 to 1990.

Career

Following Namibia's independence in March 1990, Kawana moved back to Namibia to become the first permanent secretary of the Minister of Justice, where he worked until 2000. Chosen by SWAPO to the third National Assembly in 2000, he immediately was promoted to the position of deputy Minister of Justice. Following the 2004 general election, Kawana was promoted to head the justice ministry, becoming the first permanent secretary to advance to the top post of minister since independence.

Kawana led Namibia's legal team in the Kasikili Island dispute, which was argued before the International Court of Justice. The court eventually sided with Botswana.

In 2005 he became minister for presidential affairs, serving until 2015. Kawana was also included in President Hage Geingob's cabinet, appointed in March 2015, as minister of justice. During a cabinet reshuffle in February 2018, he swapped positions with Sacky Shanghala and became attorney general, also in the rank of a minister. Kawana became minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources after incumbent Bernhardt Esau resigned in November 2019 in the wake of the Fishrot scandal. In a cabinet reshuffle in April 2021, he was moved to the Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security ministry.

Award

Albert Kawana was awarded The Most Brilliant Order of the Sun second-class for his distinguished service above the call of duty, in August 2024 by President Nangolo Mbumba.