Skip to main content

False! Namibia did not cancel oil and gas contracts with U.S

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson

(A grided image of the President of Namibia and that of the US President is attached to the claim).

Claim: In a recent post on Facebook, Vidal Joseph Johnson claimed that Namibia has cancelled its oil and gas contract with the United States and ordered an immediate halt to all American mining operations within its territory.

Verdict: False! Namibia has not cancelled its oil and gas contracts with the United States. No evidence supports the assertion.


Full Text

In this post, Vidal Joseph Johnson, a Facebook user, claimed that Namibia has cancelled its oil and gas contract with the United States and ordered an immediate halt to all American mining operations within its territory. 

This claim went viral on social media, attracting the attention of Africans who had recently been slammed with a US visa ban. Many considered the post a form of revenge on their behalf.

All the countries involved in the US visa ban are: Afghanbistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

As a result, DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim as part of its commitment to curb misinformation and promote accuracy in the digital space.


Verification

An Open Source Intelligence search on Namibia and the United States’ current oil and gas contracts found no official report from the Namibian president’s office affirming the claim. However, Reuters reported that the Namibian government has since debunked the claim.

Additionally, a Google keyword search revealed that in March 2025, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah stated that her office would manage the country’s energy sector. This was reported on several local networks, as spotted here, here, and here.

As stated in her March 21 inaugural speech, the Namibian president has appointed two advisors to oversee the sector in line with her mission to regulate the country's oil and gas.

Moreover, a thorough search on the Namibian president's official website showed no evidence that the country has cancelled its oil and gas contract with the US.

When a reverse image search was conducted on the photo attached to the claim on Yandex and Google, DUBAWA found that the image appeared as a meme in one of the search results. Other results show that the pictures of the Namibian president and the US president were collaged and circulated across various platforms since March 2025.

Furthermore, our researcher found Chevron, a major US oil company, on the list of prominent oil and gas companies. Chevron has acquired an 80% interest and operatorship of PEL 82 offshore Namibia. 

As of April 23, Channa Kurukulasuriya, the country manager for Chevron in Namibia, announced the company's vision and business expansion in Namibia during the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC).

Conclusion 

Vidal Joseph Johnson’s claim that Namibia has cancelled its oil and gas contract with the United States and ordered an immediate halt to all American mining operations within its territory is FALSE.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Senegal, first African team to beat England, but not first to score three goals

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Claim: Soccer World HQ, in a Facebook post , claimed that Senegal is the first African team to beat England and the first to score three goals against them. Verdict: Partly True! Senegal is the first African team to beat England, but not the first to score three goals against them. Full Text The England senior men’s national football team, nicknamed the “Three Lions,” played their first match against Scotland in 1872. That match ended goalless but marked the beginning of an intense soccer rivalry between both nations, dubbed the “Auld Enemy.” Since 1872-2025, the England national team has achieved its 1000-game milestone in November 2019 when they played Montenegro at the Wembley Stadium. England's all-time head-to-head record shows that they’ve played a whopping 1072 matches against 100 countries, won 615 games, drew 255, and lost 200. Senegal, on the other hand, is one of Africa’s most famous football nations, nicknamed the “Lions of Teranga.” In 2002, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sierra Leone, Two other Nations disqualified from AFCON 2024 U17 Qualifiers

By: Abdulrahman Barrie The U17 football teams from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau have been disqualified from the 2024 U17 African Cup of Nations competition in Senegal after failing the mandatory MRI test scans. These scans, which determine the age of the players, revealed discrepancies that led to their removal from the tournament. The disqualification follows changes to Article 27.4 of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations regulations, which have tightened the criteria and enforcement of age verification measures. The updated rules stipulate that if a team has more than four players deemed ineligible after the MRI eligibility test, the entire team will be disqualified. The MRI tests, used to enforce age restrictions in youth competitions, are crucial for ensuring fairness. Unfortunately, the teams from these three nations did not meet the age criteria, resulting in their disqualification. This decision has come as a significant disappointment for the young players and their fans, w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Makeni Medical Mission Brings Hope and Healing to Bombali District

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Residents of the Asker Amputee Camp in Makeni City, including various war victims, are rejoicing over the inauguration of the Makeni Medical Mission health facility, established by philanthropist, author, and pastor Mr. Bambay Sawaneh, alongside his partners in the United States. This newly launched medical facility, comprising 11 treatment rooms, was developed with the support of Southeastern Medical International (SMI) and the Concord Christian Church. Their mission is to deliver compassionate healthcare and a range of medical services to the people of Bombali District and surrounding areas, with a particular focus on war victims and vulnerable families living in the Asker Amputee Camp at Robureh. At the official opening ceremony in Makeni city, a team of 10 medical missionaries from Southeastern Medical International, including Sheila Yates, a seasoned medical missionary with two decades of experience in the US, provided free medical care to 100 individuals,...
Post a Comment
Read more