ALEC DOUGLAS BOOISWE ARE living in unprecedented times and as a nation, we have lost bright and remarkable people along this journey in the last year as a result of this dread disease called Covid-19.
Again it strikes and this time it took someone close to us, someone we called uncle, and comrade. It took someone we looked up to as father figure and a senior both in our political life and in our private family life.
Hans Gabriel Booys, a son of Rehoboth, yes, the eastern part of Rehoboth where the smoke dust hangs in the trimmings of the camelthorn trees. He has been clear of his political conviction from a tender age when he learnt about apartheid and understood the importance of resistance.
He among others, attended school at Cornelius Goreseb whereafter he qualified as an electrician in South Africa. The late Booys was a family man par excellence who at all times brought together people who did not know of each other’s existence and blood relations.
Having time on his hands after retiring from formal politics and parliament, Booys travelled extensively to attend to his family and show support to his friends and comrades. He was known as the one who provided for others without anyone knowing or without expecting anything in return.
He was a true example of the biblical teaching of never let your left hand know what your right hand was doing. He earned himself the reference of being the unofficial headman of the /Harobe people, his family clan which he represented and guided graciously.
He showed leadership as an elder and directed all on the importance of family. The contributions of the late Booys cannot be disputed.
Without question he was a pre-independence hero who suffered at the hands of the South African apartheid regime. He was tortured and imprisoned because of his firm stand and political conviction. He experienced being placed under house arrest but still remained true to Swapo and its course.
In 1979 he was arrested and incarcerated in Gobabis and later transferred to the Central Prison in Windhoek. He worked for the Council of Churches in Namibia Literacy programme during the dark years of our country’s history.
It is from this position that he passed on valuable information of the Swapo struggle in exile and inside the country. The close political connection between Booys and late comrade Esegiel /Uirab ensured that the comrades in Kunene were kept abreast of the political situation and activities.
A memorable moment for many of his comrades was at a Swapo star rally addressed by current president Hage Geingob, during the campaign at the single quarters in Katutura preceding the 1989 elections and the “Balloons Burst” as light planes flew over the venue.
The crowd scurried for cover thinking it was a bomb. Both Booys and Esegiel /Uirab echoed sentiments that a lot still needed to be done to mentally help this nation. Booys was not afraid to was clear in his resolve to stay during the dark days with his AK47.
Many a times Swapo fire power was stored with him and in some instances in his house. He was a true and tested cadre of Swapo and served the party and the Namibian nation in various capacities. He served as Swapo head for the Kunene region and parts of Erongo before independence as part of the preparations of the first democratic elections in 1989.
He is a man distinguished by exceptional courage, graciousness and resilience. After independence, Booys was appointed as the first commissioner for Kunene with his main office at Khorixas. He joined the National Assembly as a member of Swapo in 1999 after the untimely passing of comrade Maxuilili.
He later served as Swapo deputy chief whip in the National Assembly and took over as chief whip from Geingob in 2008 to 2012. Booys retired from the National Assembly after his term ended in 2011. From 2009 to the end of his term Booys also served as member of the Pan African Parliament.
He also served as a member of the Security Commission from 2005 under former president Hifikepunye Lukas Pohamba.
Booys also served as a member of Swapo’s central committee and as secretary of transport from 1997 to 2002. He served on the Veterans’ Review Board and as Swapo Nominee Shareholder of the Business interest from 2017 until it was dissolved by the party in 2021.
This is a demonstration of the trust Swapo had in him. While a member of parliament, Booys on behalf of the people of Uis once approached founding president Sam Nujoma to ensure that the community received potable water. After this engagement, president Nujoma and Booys arrived at Uis in a helicopter and after Nujoma tasted the brackish water, immediately ordered government trucks to deliver drinkable water.
The legacy Booys left will always be remembered and shall be narrated to generations to come.
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