Sakaria Zaa Nashandi (born 8 July 1949 in

Onayena Onayena is the district capital of Onayena Constituency in the north of Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia, situated approximately north of Etosha National Park. Economy and infrastructure The main economic activities in the constituency are a ...

) is 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, businessman and an ex-

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 ...

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 ...

. He is a recognised National Hero of Namibia for his contributions to the independence of the country. Nashandi attended school in Onayena and was actively involved in 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 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 ...

. He owns several small businesses in and around Onayena. Nashandi married Kauna Nashandi, a former mayor of Ondangwa, who died 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 ...

in 2013.

References

1949 births Inmates of Robben Island People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Colonial people in German South West Africa Namibian people imprisoned abroad Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Oshikoto Region SWAPO politicians Namibian revolutionaries South West African anti-apartheid activists {{Namibia-politician-stub