DANGER Ashipala, a senior advisor to Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga, died in his sleep Sunday night at the age of 62.
Namibian Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu confirmed Ashipala’s sudden death yesterday morning.
Ashipala, who was also the founding head of the paramilitary Special Field Force (SFF) unit, was found dead by his children and driver in his bedroom at his house in Windhoek’s Academia suburb at about 06h00 yesterday. Ashipala was well known in the Namibian Defence Force although he died a Police officer. Veteran soldiers who served with him in the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the Swapo Party’s military wing in exile, described him as skilled and brave fighter. Defence Minister Charles Namoloh described Ashipala as a ‘dedicated brave commander of Plan who never wavered’.’We have lost one of our best,’ Namoloh said in a telephonic interview. Namoloh said his association with Ashipala went back to 1976 when Ashipala became Chief of Reconnaissance of Plan. During this period until 1978 Ashipala was responsible for attacking South African bases in north-central Namibia.His most popular mission was that of capturing Johan van der Mescht from the Elundu base in February 1978. Later that year Ashipala, with suspended Chief of Defence Force Martin Shalli, Martin Nashandi and Namoloh, started a Special Battalion of Plan latter to be called Typhoon.Ashipala was later made head of Typhoon until 1986, when he was made Plan’s Regional Commander of the North-Eastern Front. After Independence Ashipala became one of the first Namibian Defence Force (NDF) commanders. He was a Lieutenant Colonel and was in charge of the Third Battalion, a position he held until 1995. In January 1996 Ashipala moved to the Police as Commissioner of the SFF and was responsible for border patrols and crime prevention.The SFF was at the time notorious for assaulting young men who wore earrings and disbanding unruly crowds. Ashipala held the position until 2007 when he retired.He was retained by Ndeitunga as a senior advisor because of his expertise and experience and was in the post until his death. Hamufungu described Ashipala as a principled officer who upheld the law and defended it throughout his career.
