Keharanjo II Xavier Komavau Nguvauva (12 October 1984 – 8 April 2011) was the youngest

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the

Ovambanderu The Mbanderu (''Ovambanderu'') are a population inhabiting eastern parts of Namibia and western parts of Botswana. They speak Herero language, Mbanderu (''Otjimbanderu)'' a Bantu language History and Culture Etymology While earlier theories of ...

, a

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Namaqua Genocide * Herero chat, a species of b ...

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 ...

. Keharanjo was born to the

family to the then Chief

Munjuku Nguvauva II Munjuku Nguvauva II (January 1, 1923 – January 16, 2008) was a Namibian traditional paramount chief and leader of the Ovambanderu people, a subtribe of the Herero people, Herero. Nguvauva was also deputy chief of Namibia's Traditional Leaders Co ...

and his wife Aletta Karikondua Nguvauva. He was reported dead on the evening of Friday 8 April 2011 in the residential area of

Khomasdal Khomasdal is a suburb of Namibia's capital of Windhoek in the Khomas Region. Founded as Windhoek's residential area for Coloured people, Khomasdal still is primarily composed of Coloured people. In October 2006, the City of Windhoek announce ...

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 ...

where he committed suicide using an electric wire.

Education

Keharanjo began primary school in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. He passed primary and moved on to Sepopa CJSS for his Junior Certificate until he completed his Form Five from Maun Senior Secondary School. Keharanjo graduated with 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 ...

from the

University of Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other uni ...

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 ...

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 ...

in 2010. He was employed as a legal advisor in the Namibian Ministry of Justice.

Early life

Keharanjo just like an ordinary Mbanderu young boy, he spent his early years tending his father’s livestock at

Ezorongondo Ezorongondo is a settlement in the Epukiro Constituency in the Omaheke Region in Namibia. The village is the seat of the Ovambanderu royal house. The word can also refers to the city of Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvi ...

Omaheke Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed vil ...

Region. In 1988, his father took him to Ondauha in

, about from Maun, to the grave of Keharanjo’s grandfather, Chief Keharanjo I Nguvauva. There he was introduced to the Mbanderu community as a future chief. Nguvauva was then taken to the house of Chief Mathiba Moremi of Batawana, for him to be groomed to be a leader. He was also left in the care of Manuel Nguvauva, brother to Kilus Nguvauva and half-brother to Keharanjo. He was in tussle fight of succeeding his father, the late Munjuku Nguvauva II, with his half brother Kilus Nguvauva who is Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy. The succession dispute amongst the two half brothers caused division in the Ovambanderu community. The Namibian government once issued an investigation into the succession disagreement between the two half brothers which and concluded that Keharanjo is the rightful and legitimate heir to the throne. After Keharanjo's suicide the succession battle reignited, this time between Kilus Nguvauva and Aletha Nguvauva who was crowned queen by one of the OvaMbanderu faction. Only late in 2014 was a decision reached when government decided not to appeal a High Court decision in favor of Kilus Nguvauva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguvauva, Keharanjo 1984 births 2011 deaths Suicides by hanging in Namibia Namibian chiefs People from Omaheke Region University of the Western Cape alumni