Farewell ‘Comrade Chairman’

COMRADE David Hosea Meroro (87), founder member and former National Chairman of the Swapo Party, passed away on January 18 in the Windhoek Central Hospital with his beloved wife, Hilja, and other relatives beside his bed.

Namibia has lost a national political figure and President Sam Nujoma has lost a dedicated comrade, who had demonstrated his unquestionable courage during many years as an internal leader of the liberation movement and as an exiled official of Swapo from 1975 to 1989. Following the United Nations-supervised general elections held in 1989, Meroro served the Republic of Namibia as an elected member of the Constituent Assembly, contributing to the drafting of the Constitution.Making the official announcement of the death of Comrade Meroro, President Sam Nujoma stated that continued arrests, detention and torture by the colonial security police ultimately forced Meroro into exile in 1975.He served as National Chairman of Swapo from 1962 to 1991 as well as on the Swapo Central Committee and Political Bureau for several years.He will be accorded a hero’s funeral and will be buried at the Heroes’ Acre on Saturday.HARASSMENTMeroro experienced police brutality during the many times he was arrested and detained.At one point, security police searched toothpaste tubes, teapots, furniture and stock at his business premises.After hours of toil the raiders came away with useless scraps and magazines.Apart from letters to members of Swapo abroad and a number of telegrams from Peter Katjavivi, the then Swapo Secretary for Information and Publicity, the police found copies of the African Communist, a banned publication of South African origin published abroad at the time.One letter from Meroro to Katjavivi summarised the National Chairman’s public speeches; another to Peter Nanyemba in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania dealt with the plight of refugees.As it later turned out, after five months of detention in isolation the colonial authorities restricted their ‘legal’ attack to the possession of old copies of the African Communist.The so-called offence of supplying information to the external wing of Swapo – deemed by the Apartheid administration to be ‘terrorist’ – was ignored for reasons which were not easy to establish.BRUTALITYAn extract from David Soggot’s book ‘Namibia: The Violent Heritage’ states: “The last attempt to ‘open him’ had the deliberateness of an inquisitional procedure.First his wrists were handcuffed behind him; a rope was then attached, its other end thrown over the iron bars above the windows.”The officers hauled at the rope, pulled his arms upwards, twisted, contorted unnaturally above his head.In a state of semi-suspension his shoulders seemed ready to be wrenched apart.He was yelling, unable to offer resistance.After some minutes his interrogators let him down to find out what he had to offer, the procedure was repeated; once again it proved futile”.Despite these assaults, Meroro refused to talk.He was medically examined in the cells of what was then the Windhoek JG Strydom Airport within earshot of passenger jets.He made a complaint of assault – later denied by the doctor in court – as he was suffering from headaches, swollen and painful eyes and painful shoulders from the hoisting.According to one doctor, he found him quivering, anxious, breathing rapidly and shallowly; in medical jargon he was “hyperventilating”.This kind of experience made him leave the country for a life in exile but the decision to leave was not his alone – the internal leadership together with others abroad made a collective decision.Two days after Comrade Meroro’s arrival in Lusaka, Zambia, he attended Botswana’s independence day celebrations where he met several diplomats including Zambia’s veteran diplomat, Paul Lusaka – who had served as President of the United Nations Council for Namibia and had championed the cause of Namibia by debating and promoting the issue of independence.WAARBAKKIE ROOTSComrade Meroro was born on January 1 1917 at Waarbakkie near Keetmanshoop in the Karas Region.He lived and worked in the capital as a businessman for many years.In the Windhoek Old Location where he started his business – he shared a building with Aaron Shivute, who owned it and ran a shoemakers business next door.On May 15 1986, in a letter to President Nujoma, Meroro asked that in the event of his death, if it occurred in exile, and circumstances permitting, he would prefer to be buried in Namibia because that was where he started his political life and he would prefer to be buried in the land of his ancestors.Meroro and his wife Hilja were the fortunate parents of twin daughters born to them in exile.He named them Matuipi (Herero for – Where are we going) and Matujaruka (We are going home).Comrade Meroro will be fondly remembered as “Comrade Chairman” by many who knew him throughout his life.He is survived by 21 children and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.One brother, Oscar Meroro, also survives him.- NampaFollowing the United Nations-supervised general elections held in 1989, Meroro served the Republic of Namibia as an elected member of the Constituent Assembly, contributing to the drafting of the Constitution. Making the official announcement of the death of Comrade Meroro, President Sam Nujoma stated that continued arrests, detention and torture by the colonial security police ultimately forced Meroro into exile in 1975. He served as National Chairman of Swapo from 1962 to 1991 as well as on the Swapo Central Committee and Political Bureau for several years. He will be accorded a hero’s funeral and will be buried at the Heroes’ Acre on Saturday. HARASSMENT Meroro experienced police brutality during the many times he was arrested and detained. At one point, security police searched toothpaste tubes, teapots, furniture and stock at his business premises. After hours of toil the raiders came away with useless scraps and magazines. Apart from letters to members of Swapo abroad and a number of telegrams from Peter Katjavivi, the then Swapo Secretary for Information and Publicity, the police found copies of the African Communist, a banned publication of South African origin published abroad at the time. One letter from Meroro to Katjavivi summarised the National Chairman’s public speeches; another to Peter Nanyemba in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania dealt with the plight of refugees. As it later turned out, after five months of detention in isolation the colonial authorities restricted their ‘legal’ attack to the possession of old copies of the African Communist. The so-called offence of supplying information to the external wing of Swapo – deemed by the Apartheid administration to be ‘terrorist’ – was ignored for reasons which were not easy to establish. BRUTALITY An extract from David Soggot’s book ‘Namibia: The Violent Heritage’ states: “The last attempt to ‘open him’ had the deliberateness of an inquisitional procedure. First his wrists were handcuffed behind him; a rope was then attached, its other end thrown over the iron bars above the windows. “The officers hauled at the rope, pulled his arms upwards, twisted, contorted unnaturally above his head. In a state of semi-suspension his shoulders seemed ready to be wrenched apart. He was yelling, unable to offer resistance. After some minutes his interrogators let him down to find out what he had to offer, the procedure was repeated; once again it proved futile”. Despite these assaults, Meroro refused to talk. He was medically examined in the cells of what was then the Windhoek JG Strydom Airport within earshot of passenger jets. He made a complaint of assault – later denied by the doctor in court – as he was suffering from headaches, swollen and painful eyes and painful shoulders from the hoisting. According to one doctor, he found him quivering, anxious, breathing rapidly and shallowly; in medical jargon he was “hyperventilating”. This kind of experience made him leave the country for a life in exile but the decision to leave was not his alone – the internal leadership together with others abroad made a collective decision. Two days after Comrade M
eroro’s arrival in Lusaka, Zambia, he attended Botswana’s independence day celebrations where he met several diplomats including Zambia’s veteran diplomat, Paul Lusaka – who had served as President of the United Nations Council for Namibia and had championed the cause of Namibia by debating and promoting the issue of independence. WAARBAKKIE ROOTS Comrade Meroro was born on January 1 1917 at Waarbakkie near Keetmanshoop in the Karas Region. He lived and worked in the capital as a businessman for many years. In the Windhoek Old Location where he started his business – he shared a building with Aaron Shivute, who owned it and ran a shoemakers business next door. On May 15 1986, in a letter to President Nujoma, Meroro asked that in the event of his death, if it occurred in exile, and circumstances permitting, he would prefer to be buried in Namibia because that was where he started his political life and he would prefer to be buried in the land of his ancestors. Meroro and his wife Hilja were the fortunate parents of twin daughters born to them in exile. He named them Matuipi (Herero for – Where are we going) and Matujaruka (We are going home). Comrade Meroro will be fondly remembered as “Comrade Chairman” by many who knew him throughout his life. He is survived by 21 children and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. One brother, Oscar Meroro, also survives him. – Nampa