THE Ovambanderu of Namibia has known difficult times. During the wars of imperialism their cutting edge King Kahimemua Nguvauva was arrested at Omukuruvaro near present day Epukiro, led to Okahandja on foot by mounted German soldiers and executed by a German firing squad.
Then followed the exodus of the Ovambanderu to Botswana under the leadership of the stalwart Hijatuvao Nguvauva on clear directives by King Kahimemua during a ritual at Omukuruvaro. Hijatuvao lived and died in Botswana.King Kahimemua’s directed that his successor would hail from the Ovambanderu who had fled to Botswana and this is how King Munjuku Nguvauva II came about. Munjuku was born of Keharanjo, who was the son of Kungairi who in turn was the son of King Kahimemua.The Ovambanderu have an established tradition of never referring to King Kahimemua by name, only as Hija-Kungairi. Kungairi fell at the Battle of Otjunda alongside his Brother Tuvirire. Hija-Kungairi was born of Nguvauva the son of Munjuku the son of Tjozohongo, who in turn was the son of Katua ka Kainakuva. And, Kainakuva was the son of Tjiute, the son of Tjondjou.Keharanjo II Nguvauva hails from a wealthy revolutionary heritage and it is against this backdrop that the Ovambanderu has along the way designated him to be the heir-apparent to the throne. In time the Nguvauva dynasty came to be locked in disputes that led to a seeming split in the Ovambanderu community which left two factions, one led by Acting Chief Gerson Katjirua and the other led by Paramount Chief Keharanjo II Nguvauva. As a result of this discord, the Ovambanderu group under the leadership of Acting Chief Katjirua does not recognize Keharanjo as Paramount Chief and refer to him as Prince Keharanjo.Keharanjo first featured in public at the funeral of his father King Munjuku Nguvauva II in Okahandja, when he slightly stepped on the edge of conventional protocol during the King’s stately funeral. After the director of ceremony had said the last word, Keharanjo stepped to the podium from behind and in the voice of a maturing school boy, spoke with minimum adherence to protocol: ‘I want to ask all of you here today that, if my father ever did anything wrong to you, please forgive him’.The mourners had mixed reactions. Some were puzzled by the order of things, some nodded in the affirmative while some grumbled with distaste. My eyes followed the boy’s insecure movement, he walked away like someone who wished someone could whisk him close, stroke his head or hug him tightly.There was none and he stood alone for the moment before he moved further to join a group of youngsters who stood next to a Volkswagen Citi Golf. His little sister hugged him and a friend offered him a can of drink. I lifted my head with tears in my eyes. That was the start of things to unfold from within the Ovambanderu community.Anna Kahuika was my English teacher at Dobra High School. She taught me that, if you meet someone for the first time, you remember their first and their last word for the longest time.My own take is that you equally remember their first impression. Subsequent to the funeral of King Munjuku Nguvauva II I followed the events among the Ovambanderu as I continued to frequent their traditional commemorations and their funerals.And it occurred to me more and more that their future was not going to be what it used to be during the hey days of King Munjuku Nguvauva II’s leadership. These were their difficult days. The South African Regime in Namibia hated their blood and they were treated like second rate citizens by some of the other traditional communities, the Ovaherero in particular.I remembered a conversation that took place between my uncle Kaningo Kariko and an uncle I only remember as Kaaja, at the village in Aminuis called Klein Achab. That was the time when the Ovambanderu were being pushed out of Aminuis by the Ovaherero and the conversation left me as a school boy then, with the distinct impression that, these were intruders into the life of the people of Aminuis.What confused me even more was the fact that we were related to some of these Ovambanderu, such as Kamaheu Murangi, Lukas Kaiko, Borrie Katjiuanjo and his sister Puhunjo, later married Katjivikua. This exodus of Ovambanderu out of Aminuis heralded a long journey for them, whose after effects still negatively affect their lives.Paramount Chief Keharanjo stormed the stage of Namibia’s life unceremoniously and exited the same way. In his official public life, he was a very collected, disciplined and highly intelligent young man who carried the potential to contribute enormously to the future of this great nation called Namibia, that yearns so much for good and committed leadership.But like many young persons, he lived the life of a young man, more so after dark. And those who like me are patrons of places like Chez Ntemba and the Herero Mall will know what I am talking about. Amid all these, he was a laid back, non-abrasive person, who presented himself as highly calculating and he communicated to most in a style that left the impression that he has meditated all the words he expressed.I last met him in Swakopmund during the commemorations of the Orumbo Rua Katjombondi. Paramount Chief Keharanjo had promised himself that he would one day ride my horse ‘Long Time’ and each time we met at these formal traditional ceremonies I would quietly tease him out and he would just say: ‘next time’. In Swakopmund he stopped, touched Long Time on the shoulder and said with a wry smile: ‘Long Time is getting older and it looks like I will never get to taste his back’. He was right, but as fate would have it, the reason is not because Long Time is getting old.
