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 ...

Martin Shalli is a former

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. In 2005, he was appointed as Namibia's High Commissioner to

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 ...

by 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 ...

, but he was recalled in October 2006 by Nujoma's successor,

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

, and appointed as 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). He replaced controversial NDF commander

Solomon Huwala Dumeni Solomon "Jesus" Hawala is a former Namibian lieutenant general. Hawala was the deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia before independence. He earned the nickname "Butcher of Lubango" for allegedly running detainee camps ...

, and he was replaced as High Commissioner to Zambia by regional councillor Solomon Witbooi. In July 2009, Shalli was suspended by President Pohamba due to "serious allegations of irregularities"."Defence Chief Suspended"
''New Era'', 23 July 2009. Without the alleged irregularities being proven, refuted, or even officially substantiated, Shalli retired with full military privileges in January 2011.

Career

PLAN

Shalli joined

SWAPO 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 ...

'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 Sout ...

(PLAN) in 1971 in exile and eventually was trained as an anti-aircraft artillery battalion commander in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

before eventually becoming a PLAN

platoon commander {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or firs ...

, he was then appointed to Detachment commander. Shalli was then promoted to the position of Chief of Air Defence at the North Eastern front, afterwards he was made Chief of Staff of the North Eastern Front. By the end of the war he was the PLAN Chief of Operations.

NDF

When PLAN merged into the military structure to help create independent Namibia's military, the Namibia Defence Force, Shalli was given the position of Policy and Operations Director with the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

.Shalli New NDF Chief
New Era, 23 October 2006 He was then promoted to Major General and appointed NDF Chief of Staff in 1995 replacing Major General Charles Namholo. Between 2000 and 2005 he was the Army Commander with the rank of Major General. In he was then appointed in 2005 to 2006 as the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia. In 2006 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed to Chief of Defence Force,

Namibian 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 ...

. In 2009, Shalli was suspended from the NDF due to allegations of fraud. He allegedly had large amounts of money given to him by a company working in Namibia from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

from which the NDF bought equipment. Major General

Peter Nambundunga Major General Petrus "Peter" Kagadhinwa Nambundunga (3 June 1947, Onesi Constituency – 14 January 2019, Ongwediva) was a Namibian military commander. Nambundunga was appointed the commander of the army in 2005, replacing Martin Shalli when he w ...

was appointed to Act in position. Prior to his suspension, Shalli earned three medals for his service, the ''Order of Eagle'' 2nd Class, the ''

Omugulugwombashe Omugulugwombashe (also: ''Ongulumbashe'', official: ''Omugulu gwOombashe''; Otjiherero: ''giraffe leg'') is a settlement in the Tsandi electoral constituency in the Omusati Region of northern Namibia. The settlement features a clinic and a primar ...

Medal'', and the ''Cross for Bravery'' in Silver. Despite the allegations, Shalli retired with full military privileges in January 2011.

Honours and Decorations

* Order of Eagle 2nd Class * Omugulugwombashe Medal * NDF commendation ribbon

NDF Commendation Medal * Namibian Cross for Bravery Ribbon (Gold)

Namibian Cross for bravery (Gold) Medal * Namibian Cross for Bravery Ribbon (Silver)

Namibian Cross for bravery (Silver) Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalli, Martin Living people High Commissioners of Namibia to Zambia People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Namibian military personnel 1954 births