The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security will finally incorporate click sounds and special characters missing from national documents in certain communities.

This was announced during the commemoration of International Identity Day today, marked under the theme "My Identity, My Umbrella"—legal identity for all through comprehensive civil registration.

In the past, some Namibians raised concerns that their identification lacked special characters, which they believed undermined the purpose of the identity.

The ministry urged citizens whose surnames or names include special characters to initiate the amendment process, starting with their birth certificates and proceeding to the new E-ID identification documents.

"So we are, as of now, able to print IDs with special Namibian characters, all of them. If you have a document that lacks the special character and you want it included, first check your birth record. If your birth record has that character, what we will need is just a copy of your birth certificate, a set-file copy, and the original ID, and then you come and say you want to insert that special character," said Oscar Muhapi, adding that those without the characters on their birth records can apply for it to be added. "If your birth record, your birth certificate, does not have that special click, you start by applying to insert that special click on your birth certificate. Because your documents must be the same. What appears on your birth certificate or birth record must appear on your ID."

The ministry said this move was long overdue, especially for communities that have historically been forced to omit characters from their official documents.

Muhapi said the development ensures that every Namibian identity is preserved in its full form, respecting linguistic and cultural heritage.