Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah (born 13 December 1952) is 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 diplomat and military commander. He was the chief of the

Namibia Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Namibia establ ...

(NDF) from 24 January 2011 to 31 December 2013. Born in

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohang ...

, Ndaitwah joined SWAPO's military wing, the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the Sou ...

(PLAN), in 1974 and participated in Namibia's struggle for independence in various positions. He attended military training in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Nigeria,

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

and

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 ...

NDF career

At Namibia's independence in 1990, Ndaitwah became the first military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Force,

Dimo Hamaambo Lieutenant General Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam Dimo Hamaambo (27 October 1932 – 8 September 2002) was a Namibian military commander in both the Namibian War of Independence as a SWAPO member and in independent Namibia as the Chief of Defe ...

. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at that time. He became Deputy Commander of the Army in 1997. Until 2006 Ndaitwah served as

Chargé d’affaires Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006 Population The inhabitants are called ''Chargéens''. See a ...

of Namibia to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. He was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 2008 and appointed as Chief of Operations, Plans and Training, and to Lieutenant General in 2011 at the occasion of his appointment as Chief of the Namibian Defence Force, succeeding

Martin Shalli Lieutenant General Martin Shalli is a former Namibian diplomat and military commander. In 2005, he was appointed as Namibia's High Commissioner to Zambia by President Sam Nujoma, but he was recalled in October 2006 by Nujoma's successor, Hifikep ...

. He served in that position until the end of 2013 when John Mutwa was appointed new Chief of the NDF. In 2007, Ndaitwah graduated with a master's degree in Strategic Studies from

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He is a student of Public Management at the Polytechnic of Namibia. He is married to

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (born 29 October 1952) is a Namibian politician who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia since March 2015. She has also been serving as Namibia's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since December 2012 ...

, Namibia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Medals and awards

Campaign Medal * NDF commendation ribbon

NDF Commendation Medal * UNAVEM Medal ribbon

UNAVEM Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndaitwah, Epaphras Denga 1952 births Living people People from Ohangwena Region People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Members of SWAPO Namibian diplomats Namibian military personnel University of Ibadan alumni Ambassadors of Namibia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo