John McNab (1934/1935 - 3 October 2020) was a Namibian politician who served as Rehoboth Baster captain from 1999 until 2020.[1]
John McNab was born around the Rehoboth area of South West Africa in 1934 or 1935. His grandfather was of Scottish descent, and was murdered in Waterberg in 1880.[2]
In 1971, McNab co-founded the Rehoboth Baster Association (RBA), alongside Ben Africa and Piet Junius. McNab remained with the RBA before leaving in 1977 to establish the Rehoboth Democratic Movement.[3][4] McNab was elected as Baster captain on 11 January 1999, with 40.8% of the vote, succeeding Hans Diergaardt.[5]
McNab signed the Rehoboth Baster community into the membership of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) on 17 May 2008.[5] In 2016, McNab was awarded the Afrikaans Language Board's Koker Award for his "continued struggle for the protection of Afrikaans in Namibia."[6] In 2018, McNab delegated office duties to Martin Dentlinger due to ill-health.[7]
On 3 October 2020, McNab died aged 82.[1]