Kaumbi, a champion for restorative justice

Deputy minister of finance and public enterprises Maureen Hinda-Mbuende has hailed the late Swapo think tank member Uazuva Kaumbi as a champion for restorative justice, whose stance on fairness and equity is unparalleled.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Hinda-Mbuende described Kaumbi’s death as a great loss to academia, the pan-African community and the nation.

“We have lost a philosopher, creative mind and a great writer who was passionate about social justice and fairness,” she said.

She said Kaumbi will be best remembered for his role as the executive producer of ‘Where Others Wavered’ – a film based on a book with the same title, telling the story of Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma.

On behalf of the Pan-African Centre of Namibia, Hinda-Mbuende conveyed her condolences to Kaumbi’s family, friends, the Omaruru community and the nation.

She said the onus is now on those who remain to pick up the baton and wage war against injustices, particularly regarding genocide reparation talks.

Kaumbi, a former board chairperson of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), academic and member of the Swapo party think tank, succumbed to a long illness in the Roman Catholic Hospital in Windhoek yesterday.

He was 60 years old.

His death was confirmed by his cousin Joshua Kaumbi.

Kaumbi is survived by his wife, Vespa, and six children.

According to Joshua, the late Kaumbi “took on various challenges and effortlessly excelled at most”.

“He played a role in the fight for independence through his involvement in the Namibia National Students Organisation and his work for the Council of Churches in Namibia.

“He was also a prolific writer, bright mind and staunch pan-Africanist,” Joshua said.

Before his death, Kaumbi had developed a keen interest in rectifying the chieftaincy squabbles that are currently dogging the Ovaherero community, he said.

Kaumbi was born in Windhoek, in March 1963.

He obtained a BSc degree in civil engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, followed by a BCom degree from the University of South Africa, and a master’s degree in water resource engineering and management from the University of Zimbabwe.

He went on to obtain his doctorate of business administration (DBA) from the University of Namibia.

After obtaining his first degree, Kaumbi joined the Department of Water Affairs in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform for about two years, after which he joined the City of Windhoek for about one year.

He then moved to the National Housing Enterprise, where he served as the senior manager of technical services and property management for about 10 years.

TRIBUTES

Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari yesterday expressed great sadness at the passing of a man he referred to as “an elder brother and dear comrade”.

“Kaumbi and I would debate matters around politics and traditional authorities, in which he invested a big part of his later years.

“In light of my esteem for his talents and sharp brain, I always pleaded with Kaumbi to focus on the republican nation-building project as opposed to a retreat to traditional leadership,” he said.

Hengari said they did not always agree on the men and women who should lead Swapo and the nation.

“I was pleased with his appointment as a member of the council of the Namibia University of Science and Technology. He belonged in the centre of our nation,” he said.

NBC producer Patrick Mettler yesterday said: “Tate Uazuva Kaumbi will be remembered among others as the executive producer of the local film ‘Where Others Wavered’, and for being in charge of creating the indigenous language news bulletins on NBC TV. Go well, hamba kahle, rest in peace, groot man.”