Gochas

Gochas
Village
Aerial view of Gochas (2017)
Gochas
Coordinates: 24°47′S 18°49′E
Country	Namibia
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	1,868
Time zone	UTC+2 (South African Standard Time)
Climate	BWh

Gochas is a village in the Hardap Region of Namibia. The village had 1,868 inhabitants in 2023.

History

The village has been the main settlement of the ǃKharakhoen (Fransman Nama), a subtribe of the Nama people,^[2] since 1889.^[3]

Gochas was a flashpoint in the colonial Herero Wars in German South West Africa. It was used as a military post and camel station under Imperial German rule. In January 1905 the Germans defeated the Nama chief Simon Kooper here. The final battle of the war, the Battle of Seatsub, was fought in Bechuanaland in March 1908. Capt. Friedrich von Erckert was killed in action, and a memorial was built in Gochas.^[4]

Geography

Gochas is located 110 kilometres (68 mi) southeast of Mariental^[5] and 64 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Stampriet on the way to the Mata Mata border post to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.^[6] It lies on the banks of the Auob River 1,150 metres (3,770 ft) above sea level. The area is at the center of a set of Kalahari Desert dune farms on which cattle and sheep graze.^[7]

Demographics

In 1960, the population was reported as 205 whites, 108 mixed-race, and 224 blacks.^[7]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1960	537	—
2011	1,347	+1.82%
2023	1,868	+2.76%
Sources:[7][1]

Climate

Gochas receives an average of 176 millimetres (6.9 in) of rainfall per year. During the 2010s drought a low of 31 mm (1.2 in) was recorded.^[8]

Politics

Gochas is governed by a village council, established in 1958, that currently^[update] has five seats.^[9]

The 2015 local authority election was won by the SWAPO party which gained three seats (326 votes). One seat each was won by the Congress of Democrats (CoD, 96 votes) and the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 36 votes).^[10] The 2020 local authority election was won by the newly formed Landless People's Movement (LPM) which scored well all over Hardap. LPM gained 347 votes and three seats in the village council. SWAPO gained only one seat (147 votes), and the likewise new Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) won the remaining seat with 108 votes.^[11]

References

1. "4.5 Population by town and census years (2011 and 2023)" (PDF). Namibia 2023 - Population and Housing Census. Main Report. Namibia Statistics Agency. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
2. Malan, Johan S (1998). Die Völker Namibias [The Tribes of Namibia] (in German). Windhoek, Göttingen: Klaus Hess. pp. 120–125.
3. Dierks, Klaus. "Biographies of Namibian Personalities, K". Retrieved 9 July 2011.
4. Haacke, Wulf D (1992). "The Kalahari Expedition, March 1908: The Forgotten Story of the Final Battle of the Nama War". Botswana Notes and Records. 24: 1–18. JSTOR 40979912.
5. Cloete, Luqman (24 November 2005). "Ministry takes up probe of problems at Gochas". The Namibian.
6. "Gochas". Namibweb. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
7. Potgieter, D.J. (ed.) 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou).
8. Menges, Werner; Oliveira, Yokany (23 May 2019). "Khomas faces worst drought in 90 years". The Namibian. p. 1.
9. "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch. No. 3. Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
10. "Local elections results". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 28 November 2015. p. 2. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
11. "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Namibia. 29 November 2020. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2020.