Hee-Dee Walenga
20-year-old global internet sensation, Darren Watkins Jr, otherwise known as iShowSpeed, ended his historic 20-country Africa tour in the Land of the Brave with two livestreams that were originally scheduled to take place in early January. Watkins Jr had to readjust his tour plans due to red tape with the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The delay saw Speed visit the rest of Africa, which included livestreams at historic African sites such as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Door of no Return in Benin, the African Renaissance Monument in Senegal, and Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
On 27 January, the day finally came for Speed to visit Namibia. The internet was full of rumours of what his itinerary might look like. Some doubted if he would visit Namibia at all. Watkins Jr constantly assured his supporters that Namibia would be part of the tour. On the morning of 27 January 2026, the rumours became reality, as clips of him arriving at the Hosea Kutako International Airport started to circulate on social media.
Hundreds of viewers could be seen on Speed’s Youtube Channel 3 hours before the stream was meant to begin. As the livestream drew closer, the number multiplied into the thousands. Twenty minutes before the stream kicked off, thousands of fans, majority presumed to be Namibians, were in the chatroom talking to themselves.
As fans waited for the livestream to begin, Watkins Jr was met by Namibia’s ICT Minister, Emma Theofelus, at the Eros Airport prior to his departure to Okahandja to meet the Himba tribe at the Tjiri Lodge. Watkins Jr was met by a young Himba woman named Beauty, who elegantly facilitated the communication between Speed and the Himba elders. Beauty explained various present and past Himba traditions to Speed and his viewers.
Speed seamlessly and eagerly integrated with the Himba tribe. “Today, I am Himba, I will do whatever you tell me to do,” Speed said after Beauty told him to take off his diamond earrings. Speed was visibly fascinated by the Himba culture. He expressed his admiration for the otjize coated hair of the Himba women several times and was not shy about asking about the origin of various customs such as the ground red ochre that they applied on his skin. “Thank you for informing me and millions of people about your chat. I really appreciate it, I learned a lot today,” Speed concluded.
He then made his way to the Bush Walk Experience outside Windhoek to experience the way of life of the San People, where he learned about the various uses of traditional plants, fire making techniques, hunting techniques, and the famous ‘clicking language’ of the San People.
On his way to single quarters, Speed described Namibia as a “beautiful country.” Upon his arrival at Single Quarters, Speed was ushered around by Shikulo Pinehas, famously known as Zuluboy, to try some Kapana. “Namibian beef is slept on, that was good,” Speed said after tasting some Kapana and salsa in front of an excited crowd.
The livestream climaxed when Speed arrived in the Central Business District of Windhoek. Speed completely shut down Independence Avenue and brought the five o’clock traffic to a standstill as hundreds of mostly young Namibians chanted his name and did their best to get a view of their favorite streamer. Watkins Jr raced, and beat, local athlete & content creator John Deon twice in the middle of the CBD.
The pandemonium never subsided, even when Speed went into the lobby of the Hilton Hotel to catch a breather, after being visibility exhausted. He ended his final stream of the Africa tour by announcing that he will be donating to local communities of some of the countries that he has visited and ‘revealed’ that his ancestry test came back as “100% African.” He also assured his supporters that he will return to Africa to visit the countries that he could not visit on this leg of the tour.
The stream had 400,000 views 30 minutes after it ended and consistently had 50k+ live viewers. At the time of publishing, the Namibia stream had over 1 million total views. Speed’s livestreams collectively generated 130 million views on his YouTube page alone. Watkins jr is the first black YouTuber to have 50 million subscribers.
