Anton Theodor Eberhard August Lubowski (3 February 1952 – 12 September 1989) was a Namibian

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

and advocate. He was a member of the

South West Africa People's Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

(SWAPO). In 1989 he was assassinated by operatives of South Africa’s

Civil Cooperation Bureau The South African Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB), was a government-sponsored counterinsurgency unit, during the apartheid era. The CCB, operated under the authority of Defence Minister General Magnus Malan. The Truth and Reconciliation Comm ...

. In 2015 he was declared a National Hero and his body reburied at the National Heroes' Acre outside

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

Education and early life

Born in

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...

, South West Africa, Lubowski attended

Paul Roos Gymnasium Paul Roos Gymnasium is a public, dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, and opened on the 1st of March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. It is the 12th oldest school in the c ...

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He then did a year of military training with the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, before attending

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

for law and the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

for an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

Political career

As an advocate he was a member of the

Bar. He defended political prisoners and got involved with the Namibian trade union movement in the capacity of Secretary of Finance and Administration of the

National Union of Namibian Workers The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is one of three national trade union centers in Namibia. It was established in 1970 and is affiliated with SWAPO, Namibia's ruling political party. History NUNW was originally established as a gener ...

(NUNW). He joined

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

officially in 1984. Before 1989 he had no official party position but he made frequently public statements on behalf of SWAPO. He initiated the NAMLAW Project, a legal research organisation to draft legislation for Namibia after independence. He received the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Bruno Kreisky Prize for Services to Human Rights The Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights is a biennial award created in October 1976 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Bruno Kreisky. The laureates are rewarded for their achievements in the field of human rights. The prize was divided in 199 ...

. As a SWAPO activist he was detained six times by the South African authorities. In 1989 he became Deputy Secretary for Finance and Administration in the SWAPO Election Directorate. Shortly before his death he became a member of the SWAPO Central Committee.

Assassination

In the evening of 12 September 1989, Lubowski was shot by a group of assailants in front of his house in

Sanderburg Sanderburg (''Sander's castle'') is the smallest of three castles in Windhoek, Namibia. It was built between 1917 and 1919 by architect Wilhelm Sander who designed it as his own place of residence. Its architectural style combines several medie ...

Street in central

. He was hit by several shots from an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

automatic rifle and died from a bullet wound to his head. On 26 August 2015, Namibia's

Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that m ...

, Lubowski was reburied at Namibia's National Heroes' Acre.

In media

Lubowski's life is described in his widow's self-published novel ''On Solid Ground''. Lubowski's assassination is part of the backstory in Bernhard Jaumann's novel ''The Hour of the Jackal''.

References

External links

* Anton Lubowski Educational Trus
website
* Son Almo Lubowski websit
www.almolubowski.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubowski, Anton 1952 births 1989 deaths 1989 in South West Africa 20th-century Namibian lawyers 20th-century Namibian politicians Assassinated Namibian politicians Unsolved murders in Namibia Members of SWAPO Namibian lawyers National heroes of Namibia Namibian people of German descent People from ǁKaras Region Stellenbosch University alumni University of Cape Town alumni White Namibian people