Mariental’s new mayor

Born on the 11 May 1996, Cherien Kock grew up in Mariental, better known as ‘Tsaraxa-Aibes’ at the time. Kock is the first of four children. Her father was an employee at the Roads Contracting Company (RCC) and her mother was a housewife.As a family they would spend their weekends on the farm, where her father farmed part time. She started her education at the Sonop Primary School and completed it at Mariental Secondary School.Her passion for working with people, travelling and adventure, prompted her to pursue a diploma in travel and tourism at the International Training College Lingua in Windhoek.She is now taking a course in local government studies, which she will graduate from at the end of this year.“Surprisingly, I never really had any interest in politics, I never voted in previous elections,” she said. ChangeThis changed in 2016, when Landless Peoples Movement (LPM) founder and leader Bernadus Swartbooi was instructed by President Hage Geingob to publicly apologise to the then minister of land reform, Utoni Nujoma, for remarks he had made. “What stood out for me personally, was the manner in which Swartbooi conducted himself,” Kock said.After that, she took it upon herself to do research on Swartbooi and politics, marking the start of her political journey.A highlight of her career to date, is being in a position to serve her community, and having the ability, through her office, to Mariental’s residents. One of the challenges, however, that she faces, is having to frequently navigate different personalities, egos and others’ self-interests.“I believe that many mayors can attest to the fact that it is a stressful job, but we signed up for it and so we have to deliver for the people,” Kock said.Road ahead In the next five years she hopes to continue serving people, while specifically focusing on advocating for the youth and women empowerment on a local and national level.“I’d like to quote the bible scripture in the book of Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11.This scripture reminds us of God’s promise to us, his folk. “We must remain steadfast and continue to fight the good fight with God by our side. “Through God we can achieve all that we want to and that which is destined for us,” the mayor said.

Mariental’s new mayor

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Republikein 2025-05-16

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Mariental’s new mayor

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