Kleopas Hafeni Dumeni (born 3 October 1930, Oshituku,

Nakayale Nakayale, also known as Nakayale Keengulu is a village in northern Namibia near Outapi in Omusati Region situated 86km northwest of Oshakati and 4km from Outapi. It is in Anamulenge Constituency. History of the mission station An auxiliary mission ...

Ombalantu Outapi wa Nakafingo na Temba, also Outapi or Uutapi and Ombalantu, is a town in northern Namibia near the border with Angola situated northwest of Oshakati. It is the capital of Omusati region and the district capital of the Outapi electoral co ...

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 ...

) is a Namibian church leader and a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It has a total membership of over 772,398, mainly in Northern Namibia. Formerly known as the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church (ELOC), it pla ...

. Dumeni is the son of Paulus Monima yaDumeni yaHipetekwa (b. 1902) and Hileni Utumbontsezi yaShimooshili shaUpuma (b. 1909). Dumeni went to school in Oluvango during 1935–45, then in the Nakayale Primary School during 1947–50, and in a vocational school in

Oniipa Oniipa is a town in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Oniipa electoral constituency. It lies just outside Ondangwa. It is the hometown of former Lutheran bishop and liberation leader Leonard Auala. There i ...

during 1951–53 and in a school in

Oshigambo Oshigambo is a settlement in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia. It is situated on the banks of Oshigambo River east of the Etosha pan The Etosha Pan is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in the north of N ...

during 1955–56. He studied theology in the Elim seminary during 1957–59. Dumeni was consecrated a bishop by visiting Bishop Erkki Kansanaho from

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, in June 1979 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 ...

. Dumeni worked as the second bishop of the

during 1979–1991, and as the presiding bishop from 1992 until 2000, when he retired. Dumeni has an honorary doctoral degree in theology from three universities: *

Wartburg Theological Seminary Wartburg Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Dubuque, Iowa. It offers three graduate-level degrees (MA, MA Diaconal Ministry, and M.Div.), a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries certificat ...

, USA, 1979 *

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

, Finland, 1990 *

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, USA, 1991 He was also given the Wittenburg Award in 1991 by the

Luther Institute Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Dumeni was married to Aino yaGabriel yaHaileka in 1959. He has 5 sons and two daughters with her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumeni, Kleopas 1930 births People from Omusati Region Namibian Lutheran clergy 20th-century Lutheran bishops Ovambo people Lutheran bishops in Africa Living people