Andreas Zack Shipanga (26 October 1931 – 10 May 2012) was a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician known for the " Shipanga Rebellion", a movement within

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 ...

that sought to elect a new leadership and whose followers were in response detained without trial. Imprisoned for two years following this fall-out, Shipanga was arrested and held in detention in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

then

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

until 1978. After his release from prison he founded the opposing

SWAPO Democrats The SWAPO Democrats, also known as SWAPO-D, was a political party formed from a break within the South West Africa People's Organization in 1978. Formed in Sweden on 10 June 1978, the party was led by former leading SWAPO members Andreas Shipang ...

and served as minister in different portfolios in the

Transitional Government of National Unity The Transitional Government of National Unity (''Gouvernement d'Union Nationale de Transition'' or GUNT) was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running ci ...

, the interim government of South-West Africa directly before Namibian independence.

Early life and travels

Shipanga was born on 26 October 1931 in Ondangwa,

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. The term originally referred to the parts of ...

. He obtained a Teacher's Training Certificate at

Ongwediva Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. it had 27,000 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private sch ...

in 1952. Soon after graduation he travelled abroad in search of further education which was not possible for Blacks after 1948. The National Party had won the 1948 election in

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 ...

, subsequently

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

legislation was introduced. He first stayed in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, then moved on to

, and from there to

South Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

Career with SWAPO

Having read about

Andimba Toivo ya Toivo Herman Andimba Toivo ya Toivo (22 August 1924 – 9 June 2017) was a Namibian anti-apartheid activist, politician and political prisoner. Ya Toivo was active in the pre-independence movement, and is one of the co-founders of the South West Afri ...

and Fillemon Mifima preparing the foundation of a political party in support of Namibian independence, Shipanga traveled to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

to join the group in 1957. He co-founded the

Ovamboland People's Congress The Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) was a nationalist organization that existed between 1959 and 1960 in South West Africa (now present day Namibia). The aim of the organization was to end the South African colonial administration, and the ...

, the predecessor of OPO and SWAPO. Shipanga returned to South-West Africa in 1960 and went into exile in 1963 where he helped established several SWAPO offices and military training camps. He was SWAPO's representative in

Kinshasa, Zaire Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one ...

and then

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

from 1964-69. While in Egypt, he married his wife Esmé. Following his stint as diplomat, he became the SWAPO Secretary for Information and Publicity from 1970 until 1976.

SWAPO D

In the 1970s Shipanga complained about corruption within SWAPO and misuse of donor funds. He suggested to elect new leaders and for this to be able to happen he pushed forward the organisation of a party congress. These actions were later called the "Shipanga Rebellion". He and members of his group were arrested in Zambia in 1976. Shipanga was jailed for two years at different facilities, but never charged or tried. Upon his release in 1978 he applied for asylum in the United Kingdom where his wife was a citizen. However, he travelled on to Sweden and returned to Namibia the same year and formed

, better known as SWAPO D. SWAPO Democrats participated in

n-sponsored "internal settlements", including the

, a pseudo-government installed by South Africa. He served as Minister of Mines and Energy, of Nature Conservation and Tourism, and of Commerce and Industry. Shipanga later related the poor performance of SWAPO D in the first democratic elections of Namibia to his involvement in this controversial body. Shipanga was the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Transitional Government of National Unity in 1987 and 1988. When SWAPO D failed to get a single seat in the 1989 parliamentary elections, the first democratic elections in Namibia, Shipanga retired from politics. His party disbanded in 1991. Shipanga died from a heart attack on 10 May 2012 at Uuhehe settlement in the

Oshikoto Region Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. The city of Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and the towns of Omuthiya and Oniipa are also situated in this region. , Oshikoto had 112, ...

of northern Namibia.

Early life and travels

Career with SWAPO

SWAPO D

See also

References

Further reading