Former war veteran Kashea remembered

THE late liberation struggle stalwart Joseph Ndeshipanda Kashea is remembered as an individual who contributed greatly to Namibia’s independence.

Kashea (71) died during the early hours of 14 April 2021 at a hospital in Windhoek following a long illness that was a result of torture as a political prisoner, according to a family representative Joseph Iita in a statement.

Iita said Kashea, better known as ‘comrade’ Jacob Hannai, was a former Robben Island prisoner.

He was born on 30 December 1951 at Okanghete in the Omusati region.

He started his education in 1959 at Nakayale Primary School, and completed his standard six certificate in 1967.

After this, Kashea enrolled at the Ongwediva Training College.

He became an active Swapo party liberation member in 1968.

Kashea was first arrested at the age of 19 for participating in the mobilisation of class boycotts.

According to the family statement, he was expelled from Ongwediva Secondary School in 1971 as a result of participating in demonstrations.

In 1972, Kashea was elected deputy secretary of Swapo’s youth league.

The same year he was arrested again upon leaving the premises of a local newspaper after handing over a notice of a rally.

Kashea was immediately moved from the general cells of the facility where he was incarcerated to the section with death-row cells.

In 1974, he was moved to the Windhoek Central Police Station and placed in solitary confinement.

On 30 July 1974, charges in terms of the Terrorism Act (1967 Act 83 of 1967) were laid against him, and he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

“He was later transferred to Robben Island Maximum Security Prison, where many of his colleagues suffered harsh conditions,” said Iita.

He was released from Robben Island in 1976 and returned to Namibia but was forced to leave the country for exile later that same year.

After military training in Zambia, he was posted to the commanding post at the eastern front, and assigned the task of political commissar.

Kashea then went to Tanzania for advanced training, and was transferred to Angola in 1979.

“He spent a few months as senior commander at the northern front before he was transferred to the north-western front stationed at the regional commanding headquarters,” Iita said.

There he spent two-and-a-half years before he was transferred to the defence headquarters at Lubango.

He briefly worked there under the leadership of the then-Swapo secretary for defence, Peter Nanyemba.

Kashea was later appointed to serve at the Swapo diplomatic mission as deputy chief representative for Western Europe, based in London in 1982. In 1989 he returned to Namibia and assigned to set up an election sub-centre at Outapi, and intensify campaign activities in Ombalantu. He later served as senior employee at State House. He joined the Office of the President in 1990 and contributed to setting up the office before his transfer to the home affairs ministry in 2007, where he was a deputy permanent secretary before retiring in 2013.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.