Tsumeb (
Otjiherero name:
Okavisume) is a city of 15,000 inhabitants and the largest town in
Oshikoto region in northern
Namibia. Tsumeb is the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the
Etosha National Park. Tsumeb used to be the regional capital of Oshikoto until 2008 when
Omuthiya was proclaimed a town and the new capital. The area around Tsumeb forms its own
electoral constituency and has a population of 44,113. The town is the site of a deep mine (the lower workings now closed), that in its heyday was known simply as "The Tsumeb Mine" but has since been renamed the
Ongopolo mine.