Kerina: Call for week of mourning, hero’s funeral

FAMILY and friends have described the late Mburumba Kerina as someone whose contributions to Namibia and Africa are immense.

Mburumba played a huge role in the liberation of Namibia. He gave Namibia its name and was the first black to petition the United Nations in 1956 on conditions Namibians endured at the hands of the South African apartheid regime.

Previously known as Eric William Getzen, Mburumba Kerina changed his name after understanding where it came from. The veteran politician succumbed to Covid-19 on Monday aged 89. He celebrated his birthday two Sundays ago. He is survived by five children.

He is a co-founder of Swapo, Nudo, the Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN) and several other smaller political parties.

“Professor Mburumba Kerina, the man who named Namibia, the first petitioner of the United Nations on Namibia’s independence, has joined the ancestors,” said his daughter Katuna Kerina, who told The Namibian yesterday her father had been battling the deadly virus since last week.

She described him as a father, grandfather, uncle and beloved elder to an extended family.

Two weeks ago, he launched a foundation to provide scholarships for needy students, who could otherwise not access tertiary education. Katuna said he always held those most in need close to his heart, and dedicated his time to solving their problems.

“He enjoyed spending time with young people. He believed a life in service of others is the highest honour anyone could aspire to. He was a man of the people, and died surrounded by the people,” she added.

“He and my mom, Jane Miller Kerina, welcomed every Namibian who fled into exile with ‘135 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn’ written on a piece of paper and the advice, ‘Just go straight from the airport, you will find family there.’ These are just a few of the many memories I will treasure,” she recalled.

In an interview with The Namibian in 2019, Kerina urged young people to rise as they are the future. He said the older generation had defined its future at the time of fighting for independence.

Meanwhile, president Hage Geingob has expressed condolences to the Kerina family on behalf of Namibians and the government. He described Kerina as an influential politician, and member of Namibia’s Constituent Assembly, among other accolades.

Geingob said Kerina’s death is saddening and his deeds in the fight for independence should comfort Namibians.

“As one of the early petitioners to the UN, Kerina advanced the cause of independence, which he was able to witness in his lifetime. In this period of sadness, may you find the strength to uphold the memory of this son of the Namibian soil and may the Almighty God guide the family to find comfort in the scripture of Psalm 46:1, ‘God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble’,” Geingob added.

PDM leader McHenry Venaani said Kerina shall forever be remembered for giving Namibia its name. He implored the president to declare a week of mourning as respect to the giant of Namibian politics and for him to be accorded a hero’s burial.

Venaani said: “May we remember his legacy whenever we utter the name of our cradle. A political giant, Professor Kerina also served as a DTA councillor in Aminuis in 1998 and consequently served in the National Council. He was also a member of the National Assembly,” Venaani added.

Political analyst Joseph Diescho said the late Kerina was the most enlightened of all liberation leaders of Namibia and was his teacher until his final days.

“History will judge us very harshly for the way we treated this first African professor in Namibia’s history who died in Katutura Intermediate Hospital,” Diescho said.

“Prof Kerina was larger than life and Namibia is emptier without Prof Kerina and people like him who stood for values higher than themselves,” Diescho said.

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