A hero’s tribute to a woman combatant

On 26 August each year Namibia pays tribute to her heroes and heroines.

Of more prominence in this respect is the sombre remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives in both the war of resistance to and liberation from colonialism.

There are hundreds of brave Namib- ians, some having passed on already, and some still among us, whose names and acts of bravery are prominently engrained in our history of the war of liberation.

The fact is, however, that in our midst remain many unsung heroes and hero- ines of note, who, at the height of the war of liberation, undertook dangerous and life-threatening military missions and operations, buoyed by their desire and determination to free Namibia from the South African colonial and brutal apartheid regime.

Today, despite being in an environ- ment where, scandalously so, even those who were part of the murderous Koevoet unit or who supported its barbaric deeds, are now unasham- edly fighting to be at the liberation veteran status podium. Many People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan) combatants, as if they are oblivious to their revered acts of bravery during the war of liberation, remain humble and incredibly averse to seeking any kind of recognition for their heroic deeds.

The war of liberation, waged by combatants of Plan, became more intensified and riskier – particularly with a major and sustained invasion of southern Angola in September 1985.

It was a year earlier, 1984, when Paulina Mavago Nakanyala, popularly known as ‘Power’, her combat name, at the age of 16 left her home village of Onyoka, in the Omuntele constituency, to join the war of liberation in Angola.

She did not pursue educational op- portunities, nor did she opt for other non-military roles in Swapo bases or centres in Angola.

Instead, she was trained as a Plan combatant at Tobias Hainyeko Train- ing Centre in 1985, and immediately got deployed as a Plan combatant at the northern front in southern Angola. She became one of very few women who had the rare history of participat- ing in actual and fierce battles between Plan combatants and South African Defence Force and Koevoet counter- insurgence units.

One such battle in which Power physically participated took place at Iimbundu (Trida) in southern Angola. She and other Plan combatants commanded by the legendary Plan commander Thomas Hamunyela, popularly known as ‘Oudjuu Ua- NgudumanaNopoudjuu’, at the time the acting regional commander of Plan, northern front, on 31 October 1987 to 1 November 1987 valiantly fought and defeated South African and Koevoet units.

It was at this battle that a number of South African armoured vehicles were destroyed and two Casspir combat vehicles captured.

It was particularly because of the bravery of Power and a few other women who partook in that battle, that the president of Swapo then, Sam Nu- joma, addressing a rally of the Swapo Women’s Council in Luanda during March 1988, appreciatively said to women: “We have adopted equality of the sexes, and we are committed to ensuring that this equality is fully exercised in our movement in the inter- est of promoting the unity of purpose and action toward the total liberation of our motherland.”

Subsequent to Power’s participation in that fierce battle, she was deployed to Plan’s command headquarters in Lubango due to her bravery, discipline and dedication.

She was awarded a liberation medal of bravery by Nujoma in 1989 just before the end of the war.

Furthermore, because of her good work, Swapo, during July 1989, de- cided to send her to Luanda for driving lessons – an opportunity she did not get during the war.

She obtained her international driv- ing licence in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1990. She returned to Namibia at the end of 1990 and joined the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) on 21 October 1991.

It was befitting and delightful to witness Power finally becoming a commissioned officer in the NDF with the rank of lieutenant on 12 August 2021 at the Osona Military School at Okahandja after undergoing a quarter- master commissioning course.

We should start paying tribute to our heroes, including women, while they are alive.

A blessed Heroes’ Day to all brave women.