Imelda Hoebes was raised in rural Namibia within a historically marginalised Damara (ǂNūkhoen) community, giving her lived insight into the structural barriers and colonial legacies that continue to shape African societies. She approaches her research as an indigenous sociologist whose cultural background and shared colonial and apartheid histories with South Africa uniquely position her to connect lived experience with scholarly inquiry.    

As a researcher at KITLV, her interdisciplinary work investigates the religious lives of Oorlam/Nama communities in southern Namibia, tracing their historical formation to the Dutch Cape Colony and following the afterlives of colonial religious encounters northward into what is now Namibia. Her work examines how Christianity, reinterpreted and implemented on their own terms, continues to shape identity and meaning-making among descendant communities today as lived religion.

A native speaker of Khoekhoegowab, Imelda is also fluent in English and Afrikaans, with conversational proficiency in Dutch. She holds an MA in Sociology and a BA in Psychology with a minor in History, both from the University of Namibia. Before joining KITLV, she worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Namibia, teaching Rural Sociology, Gender Studies, and Namibian Society, while coordinating the UNAM Gender Advocacy Project. She has contributed to research projects across Southern Africa. Equipped with fifteen years of experience in academia and the development sector, she combines research with community engagement, NGO work, and government partnerships, reflecting a career-long commitment to amplifying marginalised voices and translating research into social impact.

Selected publications

Hoebes, Imelda, & Edwards, Lucy, ‘The role of cash incentives in HIV behaviour change: A case study based on the RHIVA programme in Namibia’, Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences 8-2: 1–17, 2020. 

Hoebes, Imelda, ‘Women and housing: Katutura case study’, in: Namibia’s housing crisis in perspective 1: 119, Namibian Social Justice Coalition, 2021. 

Hoebes, Imelda Hoebes et al., 'Older persons and community care in Namibia [report]', University of Cape Town, 2024.