Brendan Kongongolo Simbwaye (1934–1972?) was a Namibian anti-

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 ...

activist who was president of the Caprivi African National Union (CANU). Simbwaye became the vice-president 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 1964 after the two organizations merged. Simbwaye's life and political career was cut short in 1972 when he disappeared without trace.

Early life

Simbwaye was born in 1934 at Ndangamwa, a village near

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban cent ...

in the eastern part of Caprivi. He was educated at the Holy Family Mission at

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. I ...

where he completed Standard 6 Upper in 1955. He furthered his education at Lukulu Teacher Training College in Zambia where he completed a two-year primary education course in 1957. He did Standard 8 by correspondence through

Lyceum College Lyceum College is a college 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 ...

, South Africa. Simbwaye was employed as a teacher at the Holy Family Mission in 1957.

Political career

In 1963 Simbwaye resigned from teaching and co-founded CANU with

Mishake Muyongo Albert Mishake Muyongo (born 28 April 1944) is a Namibian politician and former Member of Parliament who is living in exile in Denmark. Muyongo was born into Mafwe Royal House in Linyanti, South West Africa. He received education at the Roman ...

with the purpose of terminating South Africa's hold on the Eastern Caprivi Zipfe. Towards the end of 1963 he left to Lusaka, Zambia to seek support from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

which was then involved in Zambia's transition to independence and to cement ties with the

United National Independence Party The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 ...

(UNIP). While in Zambia he made contact with the SWAPO leadership. In early 1964 Simbwaye and Muyongo negotiated the merger of CANU and SWAPO with SWAPO leader

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

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 ...

. As a result of the merger he was appointed the Vice-President of SWAPO. Simbwaye returned to Caprivi at the end of March 1964 and was arrested in July when he was about to address the first ever CANU/SWAPO rally at a village near

. He was charged for leaving the country illegally and for organizing a public meeting without permission from the authorities. He was sentenced to a three months jail term at the Windhoek Central Prison. After his release he was banned from reentering Caprivi without approval from the Minister responsible for Bantu Administration and Development. He was then restricted first to Warmbad and then to Khorixas where he was kept in a small prison.

Death and legacy

It is reported that he was charged with terrorist activities in a secret trial in

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 ...

in 1970. In 1972 he was allowed to visit Caprivi and disappeared there under unclear circumstances at the time of the visit of the UN representative Escher. Simbwaye was allegedly killed by the South African security forces at Caprivi during his visit in 1972. A number of entities have been named in his honour: * Brendan Simbwaye Square Building in

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 ...

* Brendan Simbwaye Primary School in

* , a

Namibian Navy The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's navy has been slow, and the force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime wing and in 2004 as a fully ...

patrol boat * The D3508 in the Kabbe North constituency, linking

Luhonono Luhonono, until 2013 Schuckmannsburg, is a settlement in the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia with a population of about 800. It belongs to the Kabbe North electoral constituency of the Zambezi Region. During the time of German colonialism, ...

to Isize and Namalubi, was renamed ''Brendan Simbwaye Road'' in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simbwaye, Brendan 1934 births 1970s missing person cases 1972 deaths Male murder victims Members of SWAPO Missing person cases in Africa Namibian expatriates in Zambia Namibian prisoners and detainees National heroes of Namibia People from Zambezi Region South West African anti-apartheid activists Unsolved murders in Namibia

Early life

Political career

Death and legacy

See also

References