Sun sets on chapter in Herero history

A SAD chapter in the history of the Herero people dating back to the 1904 war against colonial Germany was closed after more than 100 years on Saturday as the remains of Chief David Tuvahi Kambazembi were laid to rest at the Waterberg mountain alongside the grave of his great-grandfather, Chief Baybay Kambazembi.

More than 1 000 Herero people from Namibia and delegations from their tribe living in Botswana and South Africa attended the traditional funeral rites at Okakarara , before a procession of cars slowly followed the hearse into the setting sun. The casket was taken to the family’s ancestral burial site at the foot of the mountain, 45 kilometres west of the town.Little did the 73-year-old chief realise that he would never return to Namibia alive when he embarked on an official trip three weeks ago to Mahalapye in Botswana, where he grew up, and to Lephalale (Ellisras) in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.At Lephalale, Chief Kambazembi held discussions with Herero descendants and authorities to have the remains of his grandfather, Chief David Kaunjonjua Kambazembi, brought back to Namibia for reburial.At Lephalale, Kambazembi died of sudden heart failure on July 14 and his own remains had to be brought back to Namibia.When the highly respected Chief Kambazembi of Otjozondjupa (Waterberg) died in August 1903, his first-born son Salatiel was to follow him as chief, but his younger brother David Kaunjonjua was chosen by the people.In January 1904, the Herero uprising started and after the Battle of Waterberg on August 11 and 12 1904, David Kaunjunjua and his family fled with their leader Chief Samuel Maharero, first to Botswana and then to South Africa, where they settled on the farm Groenfontein near Lephalale.The younger, able Herero men worked in the mines in South Africa to earn a living.”The late Chief David Tuvahi Kambazembi who died in our town two weeks ago was born at Kauletsi, also called Seleka, in the Limpopo Province in 1932,” said Kamutuua Kandorozu, leader of some 500 Herero descendants whose forefathers fled in 1904 and settled in the Lephalale area.”His father, Chief David Kaunjunjua, was buried at the farm Groenfontein, but his remains were supposed to come home to Namibia,” Kandorozu said at the funeral at Okakarara on Saturday.”Unfortunately, Chief Tuvahi could not complete this task, as he himself died at Lephalale.We will, however, continue to negotiate with the relevant authorities to bring the remains of his grandfather back to Namibia.”The family of Chief Tuvahi moved to Botswana where he grew up and lived until 1992, when he led some 2 000 Hereros from Botswana emigrating to eastern Namibia and settling at Eiseb and Gam close to the Botswana border.Chief Tuvahi Kambazembi joined the Swapo Party a short while later and soon received official recognition as traditional chief from the Namibian Government.He moved to Okakarara, where he set up an office.Speaker after speaker mentioned the leadership qualities of the late traditional chief.Since coming to live in Namibia, the country of his forefathers, Chief Tuvahi often visited the gravesite of his great-grandfather at the Waterberg, where his grandfather David Kaunjunjua grew up and participated in the 1904 War.Hereros killed 12 Germans in January 1904 at the Waterberg, where the Waterberg Plateau Park is situated today.The ancestral graves of the Kambazembi clan are near the entrance to the Park on a farm that belongs to Dr Zed Ngavirue, who is related to the Kambazembi family.The casket was taken to the family’s ancestral burial site at the foot of the mountain, 45 kilometres west of the town.Little did the 73-year-old chief realise that he would never return to Namibia alive when he embarked on an official trip three weeks ago to Mahalapye in Botswana, where he grew up, and to Lephalale (Ellisras) in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.At Lephalale, Chief Kambazembi held discussions with Herero descendants and authorities to have the remains of his grandfather, Chief David Kaunjonjua Kambazembi, brought back to Namibia for reburial.At Lephalale, Kambazembi died of sudden heart failure on July 14 and his own remains had to be brought back to Namibia.When the highly respected Chief Kambazembi of Otjozondjupa (Waterberg) died in August 1903, his first-born son Salatiel was to follow him as chief, but his younger brother David Kaunjonjua was chosen by the people.In January 1904, the Herero uprising started and after the Battle of Waterberg on August 11 and 12 1904, David Kaunjunjua and his family fled with their leader Chief Samuel Maharero, first to Botswana and then to South Africa, where they settled on the farm Groenfontein near Lephalale.The younger, able Herero men worked in the mines in South Africa to earn a living.”The late Chief David Tuvahi Kambazembi who died in our town two weeks ago was born at Kauletsi, also called Seleka, in the Limpopo Province in 1932,” said Kamutuua Kandorozu, leader of some 500 Herero descendants whose forefathers fled in 1904 and settled in the Lephalale area.”His father, Chief David Kaunjunjua, was buried at the farm Groenfontein, but his remains were supposed to come home to Namibia,” Kandorozu said at the funeral at Okakarara on Saturday.”Unfortunately, Chief Tuvahi could not complete this task, as he himself died at Lephalale.We will, however, continue to negotiate with the relevant authorities to bring the remains of his grandfather back to Namibia.”The family of Chief Tuvahi moved to Botswana where he grew up and lived until 1992, when he led some 2 000 Hereros from Botswana emigrating to eastern Namibia and settling at Eiseb and Gam close to the Botswana border.Chief Tuvahi Kambazembi joined the Swapo Party a short while later and soon received official recognition as traditional chief from the Namibian Government.He moved to Okakarara, where he set up an office.Speaker after speaker mentioned the leadership qualities of the late traditional chief.Since coming to live in Namibia, the country of his forefathers, Chief Tuvahi often visited the gravesite of his great-grandfather at the Waterberg, where his grandfather David Kaunjunjua grew up and participated in the 1904 War.Hereros killed 12 Germans in January 1904 at the Waterberg, where the Waterberg Plateau Park is situated today.The ancestral graves of the Kambazembi clan are near the entrance to the Park on a farm that belongs to Dr Zed Ngavirue, who is related to the Kambazembi family.