Verona, the last grandchild of Von François

• ESTER MBATHERA and TUTALENI PINEHAS LONG after the dust settled around the protests for the Curt von François statue to fall, the legacy of Verona Nangombe, the last living granddaughter of the German army commissioner, lives on as Katuturas super gran.

On 1 November Nangombe (96) took her last breath in a Windhoek hospital.

She was the daughter of one Josefine !Gawaxas.

According to a local travel blog post, Von François was married twice during the five years he spent in Namibia.

He married Amalia Gereses, a Damara princess, and had a daughter with her, the blog post says.

Gereses is believed to be !Gawaxas mother.

!Gawaxas was married to Cornelius Nunuhe, who was known as Komondjira yaKahandja, and was Nangombes father.

Because !Gawaxas was very light of complexion, her mother allegedly used to smear her skin with charcoal to prevent her from being killed by the German authorities.

Nangombes son, Dankie, says !Gawaxas was never acknowledged by her German sister.

“They were Kurts only two children, my grandmother and her sister, who lived in Germany. The one in Germany refused to acknowledge that her father had any children in Africa,” he says.

Nangombe, who was affectionately known as Ouma /Usen, was born on 14 February 1925 at Ou Location, now known as Hochland Park.

She was raised at Usakos as a member of the Damara Royal House, before moving to Windhoek in the late 1960s.

Ouma /Usen reportedly loved teaching children to read and write.

She met her husband police officer Martin Nangombe in Windhoek and they had 11 children.

BUSINESS HOUSEWIFE

She owned and ran a shop at the shopping complex behind Mandume Primary School in Katutura, and also ran the general gealer at Dolan.

Together with her brother-in-law Thomas Kashenge, she set up the Onamangongwa supermarket in the former Ovamboland.

“My mother was a business housewife. She would run the shops in the morning and take care of the children in the afternoon,” Dankie says.

Ouma /Usen is described by her grandchild Ndeshi Hiskia as a woman who loved all her children equally.

Affectionately known as super gran among some of Katuturas children, she is remembered for opening her doors to the whole neighbourhoods children.

“She loved everyone, and she always wanted everything to be done correctly.

“She would address us in German by saying Schule macht das Leben süß(school makes life sweet),” Hiskia says.

The true to her German lineage, Ouma /Usen was an orderly person who followed rules and expected everyone to do the same.

“On Saturdays we were expected to prepare our church outfits in the evening. Your red-and-white dress should be hanging in the closet, headband folded into the shoulder of the dress next to the white bangles, and white shoes hanging below the dresses.

“She would ask if everything is in its place, and say ta |na |na, meaning keep everything in order, so you dont look for it in the morning,” Hiskia says.

Although Ouma /Usen never saw Germany, she often spoke German to European visitors.

She is survived by her children and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

BRIEF HISTORY

Von François only spent five years of his life in South West Africa (Namibia).

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