Last respects to Swapo veteran Kambangula

WHILE the Namibian nation paid its last respects to its first National Assembly Speaker this past weekend, a second Swapo veteran and freedom fighter, Frans Kambangula, was also laid to rest in Windhoek on Saturday.

Kambangula, affectionately known as Boetie Fura, served as Swapo’s Secretary of Transport, and was remembered by the Donkerhoek community this weekend as a father figure who endured considerable hardship in the struggle for the country’s liberation. He died at his home on Tuesday after battling with diabetes for many years.Speaking at his memorial service on Friday, his wife Petrina recalled spending many nights alone while her husband was either locked in a cell or hiding in the bush from the South African Defence Force (SADF).”It brought him ill health, but we carried him through this and he died in the comfort of his own home, in his own bed, and most importantly, in my loving arms,” she told mourners at the Macedonia Lutheran Church in Katutura.Swapo President and the former President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, also paid his respects during the ceremony.He told the family that Kambangula would be remembered for all he endured for the country’s liberation.”He spent many years in jail and detention, and was well known in party circles as a fearless freedom fighter,” Nujoma said.He recalled how Kambangula not only took on the dangerous task of transporting political activists to and from secret missions, but also showed people in Windhoek films of battles taking place at the border, and so influenced many Namibians to stand up for their rights.”Through this, the idea of freedom was kept alive in the minds of our people at all times.Swapo party and Namibia lost a revolutionary leader,” Nujoma said.One of Kambangula’s close friends, Nora-Schimming Chase of the Congress of Democrats (COD), described Kambangula as a man who sought justice, but who was not interested in recognition.Apart from his role in pre-independence politics, Kambangula was also respected as a member of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), which was where he met Schimming-Chase about 20 years ago.He was buried in the Pionierspark Cemetery in Windhoek, and is survived by his wife, seven children and nine grandchildren.He died at his home on Tuesday after battling with diabetes for many years.Speaking at his memorial service on Friday, his wife Petrina recalled spending many nights alone while her husband was either locked in a cell or hiding in the bush from the South African Defence Force (SADF).”It brought him ill health, but we carried him through this and he died in the comfort of his own home, in his own bed, and most importantly, in my loving arms,” she told mourners at the Macedonia Lutheran Church in Katutura.Swapo President and the former President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, also paid his respects during the ceremony.He told the family that Kambangula would be remembered for all he endured for the country’s liberation.”He spent many years in jail and detention, and was well known in party circles as a fearless freedom fighter,” Nujoma said.He recalled how Kambangula not only took on the dangerous task of transporting political activists to and from secret missions, but also showed people in Windhoek films of battles taking place at the border, and so influenced many Namibians to stand up for their rights.”Through this, the idea of freedom was kept alive in the minds of our people at all times.Swapo party and Namibia lost a revolutionary leader,” Nujoma said.One of Kambangula’s close friends, Nora-Schimming Chase of the Congress of Democrats (COD), described Kambangula as a man who sought justice, but who was not interested in recognition.Apart from his role in pre-independence politics, Kambangula was also respected as a member of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), which was where he met Schimming-Chase about 20 years ago.He was buried in the Pionierspark Cemetery in Windhoek, and is survived by his wife, seven children and nine grandchildren.