John ya Otto Nankudhu (1933–2011, nom de guerre: ''Koshiwanda'', the surname is sometimes also spelled Nankugu) 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 guerrilla, army officer and politician. He was the commander of the forces of 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 Sou ...

(PLAN) at

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 ...

when the armed struggle for independence began there on 26 August 1966 and was later jailed for 17 years at

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 ...

. He is a National Hero of Namibia for his contributions to the independence of the country.

Early life and exile

Nankudhu was born on 24 June 1933 at Oluhapa in northern Namibia. He joined the

Ovamboland People's Congress The Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) was a nationalist organization that existed between 1959 and 1960 in South West Africa (now present day Namibia). The aim of the organization was to end the South African colonial administration, and the ...

, the predecessor of SWAPO, in 1958, shortly after its foundation. He quickly ascended to become its chairman for Oranjemund. In 1960 he went into exile. He received military training in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

until 1963 and thereafter joined a military academy in the

USSR 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 nationa ...

where he completed training in 1964. Nankudhu returned to Africa in 1964 and, already in the rank of a commander of the

(PLAN), started a military training camp in

Kongwa Kongwa District is one of the seven districts of the Dodoma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Manyara Region, to the east by Morogoro Region, to the south by Mpwapwa District, and to the west by Chamwino District. Its district ca ...

, Tanzania. In 1966 he moved into Namibia as one of the first six guerrillas to mobilise and train people for armed resistance. Under his leadership a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

camp near Ongandjera was established in January, and a training camp at

in June.

Battle at Omugulugwombashe

In 1966 the UN General Assembly revoked South Africa mandate to govern South West African territory and placed it under direct UN administration. South Africa refused to recognize this resolution. The group under Nankudhu had just started to build defensive structures and planned to train about 90 soldiers at Omugulugwombashe. On 26 August 1966, eight helicopters of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

attacked the PLAN guerrilla fighters, only 17 of which were in the camp at the time of attack. It was the first armed battle 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 An ...

. In commemoration of the day, 26 August is a public holiday in Namibia. It is recognized by the UN as ''Namibia Day'' but Namibians refer to it as ''

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 ...

''. John ya Otto Nankudhu was only arrested in December. The South Africans detained him in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, tortured him, and placed him in solitary confinement. He occupied the cell

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...

was held in before. In 1968 he was sentenced to death under the Terrorism Act. Following international pressure the sentence was converted to life in prison at

. He was released in December 1985.

After Namibian independence

After

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, Nankudhu served as regional councillor for

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 202 ...

Wanaheda constituency (now

Samora Machel constituency Samora Machel Constituency (formerly known as Wanaheda Constituency) is a constituency in Windhoek in the Khomas Region of central Namibia. The constituency is located across four northern suburbs of Windhoek: Wanaheda, Greenwell Matongo, Gore ...

) from 1999 to 2010. He also was the chairman of the Central Region of the Swapo Party and a member of the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs. On 26 August 2007 he received the honorary military rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. John ya Otto Nankudhu was married to Jacobina. They had five children. Nankudhu died on 21 June 2011, reportedly a poor man. Shortly after Nandudhu's death, President

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 wa ...

conferred the status of National Hero upon him and directed that a

state burial A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

be held. Nankudhu was buried at Namibia's Heroes' Acre near Windhoek on 2 July 2011. He is also commemorated at Omugulugwombashe, where a statue of six soldiers engaged in planning a military action depicts Nankudhu and his subordinates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nankudhu, John ya Otto 1933 births 2011 deaths People from Oshikoto Region SWAPO politicians People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Namibian military personnel Inmates of Robben Island National heroes of Namibia Namibian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners sentenced to death by South Africa