Iipumbu ya Tshilongo (1875–1959) was king of the

Uukwambi Uukwambi is a traditional kingdom of the Ovambo people in what is today northern Namibia. Its capital is Elim. The last king of Uukwambi was Iipumbu yaTshirongo, who was toppled by the South African authorities in 1932. Nowadays the highest trad ...

, an

Ovambo Ovambo may refer to: *Ovambo language *Ovambo people * Ovamboland *Ovambo sparrowhawk The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the famil ...

clan in

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 ...

, from 1907 to 1932. He is one of the national heroes of Namibia.

Biography

Iipumbu ya Tshilongo was born in 1873 in Onatshiku, a settlement near Elim, today in the

Omusati Region Omusati ( ng, Mopane, after the dominant tree in the area) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. , Omus ...

of northern Namibia. An accident as adolescent earned him the nickname ''Ndilimani'' (

Oshiwambo The Ovambo () language is a dialect cluster spoken by the Ovambo people in southern Angola and northern Namibia, of which the written standards are Kwanyama and Ndonga. The native name for the language is ''Oshiwambo'' (also written ''Oshiv ...

: ''dynamite'') when an explosion blew three fingers off his left hand. He became the eighteenth king of the Uukwambi in 1907, succeeding king Negumbo lya Kandenge. During his reign he became known to jealously protect the tribal area of the Uukwambi from encroaching white settlers, going as far as having the roads guarded that led into Uukwambi territory. Ya Tshilongo also resisted European cultural influence exercised via the establishment of

mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

s and administrative outposts. Having rebuked the

Finnish Missionary Society The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (''FELM'', formerly ''The Finnish Missionary Society''; fi, Suomen Lähetysseura ry; sv, Finska Missionssällskapet rf) is a Lutheran missionary society formed on January 19, 1859, in Helsinki, Finland. ...

and the

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

n Administration for years, he only allowed the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to establish a station at

Oshikuku Oshikuku is a town in Omusati Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of Oshikuku Constituency. Oshikuku features a secondary school, Nuuyoma Senior Secondary School, and a hospital. Its neighbouring villages are Outapi, El ...

in 1924. He ignored the Administration's request to send contract labourers, refused to pay taxes, and was generally uncooperative towards the authorities. Oral history and archival records characterise ya Tshilongo as a despotic tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. He had many of his subjects flee his influence, including his own daughter, Neekulu ya Shivute. Both his stubbornness towards the authorities and his questionable way to rule led to a decision to topple him. In 1932, troops under Resident Commissioner Hahn attacked the Uukwambi during his absence and had his homestead at Onashiku bombed with military aircraft. Iipumpu ya Tshilongo was later arrested and forced into exile to Kavango. He returned in 1938 to Amupolo due to illness. Ya Tshilongo died in Oshikuku on 9 September 1959.

Recognition

Iipumbu ya Tshilongo is one of nine national heroes of Namibia that were identified at the inauguration of the country's Heroes' Acre near

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 ...

. Founding president

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 ...

remarked in his inauguration speech on 26 August 2002 that:

Chief Iipumbu ya Tshilongo was a true Namibian nationalist ruler who rejected the idea to pay taxes to the South Africa colonial authorities and who refused to cooperate with them. He also did not allow the missionaries to gain any influence over him or his people. ..His resistance and strong nationalistic character inspired many people, even in his absence, to continue with the anti-colonial struggle. ..To his revolutionary spirit and his visionary memory we humbly offer our honor and respect.

Ya Tshilongo is honoured in form of a granite tombstone with his name engraved and his portrait plastered onto the slab. His homestead in Onashiku was proclaimed a national monument in 2014. The site has been deproclaimed a few month later.''275/2014 – Deproclaimed'', NHC, 15 August 2014.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ya Tshilongo, Iipumbu 1875 births 1959 deaths People from Omusati Region National heroes of Namibia Namibian revolutionaries