At the T-junction where the exit lane from Hosea Kutako International Airport extending left and right seemed almost too slender to be the main national artery connecting the coast and airport and capital, I turned right, obeying the signboard which insisted this was the way to Windhoek. The landscape around me offered the type of scenery venerated by professional photographers–thorn trees permanently twisted by prevailing winds, golden-beige savanna grass waltzing in the rhythmic breeze, a rocky hill in the distance visible through the haze of dust and hot air. It was my first time in Namibia, although my job in development research had taken me to other sub-Saharan countries and so the scenery on the way to Windhoek seemed familiar and subtly welcoming. I felt myself relaxing, anticipating tranquil, scenic hour’s drive to the city. This was the moment a family of Springbokschose to ramble onto the road, casting mere…