Petrus Iilonga (8 January 1947 – 11 December 2018) was 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 politician as well as a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader and

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

in Robben Island. A member of the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO), Iilonga served as Deputy Minister in various Ministries and was a member of the party's

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

Early life and military career

Iilonga was born in Etilyasa, a settlement near

Ongandjera Ongandjera (from "aagandji yiiyela", ''place of gold metal thread beads'') is settlement near Okahao in the Omusati Region in northern Namibia. Historically part of Ovamboland, Ongandjera is also a traditional kingship. In 1917, South Africa stri ...

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 ...

. He attended primary school there and originally became a farm worker (from 1966). He graduated from Onakaye Boys School in 1969 and from 1970 to 1971 attended Ongwediva Training College to be trained as a motor mechanic. From 1971 he worked on the construction of the

Ruacana Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, northern Namibia and the district capital of the Ruacana electoral constituency. It is located on the border with Angola on the river Kunene. The town is known for the picturesque Ruacana Falls nearby, and fo ...

Calueque Calueque is a town next to a dam and pumping station of the same name on the Kunene River in the Kunene Province of southern Angola. The water project is linked to Ruacana, away in Namibia, where the Ruacana Power Station is. This dam is one of ...

canal and between 1972 and 1973 taught at the Elondo West Combined School. He had a brief spell of work at the Ondangwa government garage before he left to receive military training in

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 and ...

and 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 ...

in 1974. He returned to Namibia in 1976 to fight for 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 ...

in the

Namibian War of Independence The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. Captured by South African forces, he was imprisoned on

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

from 1978 to 1985.

Trade unionism

After his release, Iilonga began mobilizing workers under the

National Union of Namibian Workers The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is one of three national trade union centers in Namibia. It was established in 1970 and is affiliated with SWAPO, Namibia's ruling political party. History NUNW was originally established as a gener ...

. He is described as one of three former Robben Island prisoners who were key in the rise of the union in the mid 1980s. Iilonga served as Secretary General of the

Namibia Public Workers Union 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 ...

(Napwu) from 1988 to 2000. He had founded the union in 1987, though it was legally unable to recruit members until after independence in 1990.

Political career

In 1995, Iilonga became a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, a position he held until his death in 2018. In 1996, Iilonga received Namibia's

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 for bravery and long service. Iilonga left Napwu when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism by

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 ...

in 2000. Despite his position in the government he was often a vocal critic of its labor policy, in particular for what he considered the favoring of landowners over farm laborers. In 2004 he was the centre of some controversy for pointing out that a proposed law did not allow for rapes committed by women, only those by men. Iilonga left the Department of Environment and Tourism when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in 2005. In a 2008 belated

Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that m ...

speech, Iilonga criticized the newly formed opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress for alleged tribalism. In the same speech in

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History Befo ...

, he said that SWAPO did not support opposition parties. Iilonga was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in 2010. He held that position until 4 December 2012 when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense. In the 2014 election he was not reelected to Parliament but kept his seat in the Central Committee. In November 2017 Iilonga missed out on election to the central committee of SWAPO. Iilonga resided in

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 ...

and was famous for his "

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

-style" beret and frequent phone-ins to

Namibian Broadcasting Corporation The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) ( af, Namibiese Uitsaai-Korporasie, ''NUK'') is the public broadcaster of Namibia. It was established in 1979, under the name South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC). History Radio was ori ...

radio programmes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iilonga, Petrus 1947 births 2018 deaths Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Namibian trade unionists People from Omusati Region Inmates of Robben Island SWAPO politicians Government ministers of Namibia Namibian people imprisoned abroad