Kerina celebrates 80th birthday

WINDHOEK – Politician and pioneer of Namibia’s petitioning to the United Nations (UN) in the early 1960s Mburumba Kerina celebrated his 80th birthday at his home in Katutura on Saturday night.

Described by speaker after speaker at the birthday bash as a humble, intelligent and wise man, Kerina said he considers himself ‘blessed and fortunate’ to have friends and family members celebrating the occasion with him.Kerina is the author of various books such as ‘Namibia – The Making of a Nation’; as well as ‘Chief Hosea Kutako, the Chief and Legend’.His birthday party was a beautiful event, well organised and attended by living legends of Namibia’s struggle for independence and self-determination, as well as ordinary folks from all walks of life.A brass band entertained the guests throughout the birthday celebration ceremony and many could occasionally not resist dancing to some delightfully rhythmic tunes of yesteryear.’I am a young man, and I am in a superfine state of celebrating. I am where I am today with my wife Evelhardine Kapuuo-Kerina right by my side,’ he said as he rose to address the many guests who had waited anxiously to listen to his speech.The ‘professor’, as many have fondly come to know him, is amongst the most eloquent of Namibian politicians – nearly in the same league as the late Moses Katjikuru Katjiuongua.Words roll off his tongue in mesmerising fluidity, and many a listener is often left yearning for more by the time he completes his speeches.He boasted about how he has managed to live a life in which he has raised a toast (using champagne glasses filled only with orange juice) with the greatest in the world, and said he has danced with ‘the finest and most beautiful women on earth’.He never drank alcohol and never smoked, and wishes to enjoy at least another 20 years of good health.Kerina also praised his wife, who has stood by him throughout his life. He said his close friends, children and grandchildren have also enriched his life with much joy and laughter through the years.The professor then also took the opportunity to give an account of when he petitioned and testified at the UN for Namibia on behalf of the Herero Chiefs’ Council together with the father of Namibian nationalism Hosea Kutako, Reverend Michael Scott, the late Advocate Jariretundu Kozonguizi, and founding President Dr Sam Nujoma.’These unforgettable messengers will never be forgotten in the history of Namibia,’ said Kerina.He paid tribute to ‘legends’ like Raphael Lemkin, who was a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent best known for his work against genocide, as well as the late Harold Pupkewitz, who was a great Namibian business personality.Kerina’s future plans include writing books and research, and he is currently busy with a ‘controversial’ book.But he vowed never to be a disgrace to the Namibian nation.’This evening is the greatest of all evenings. Let us all be angels and dance the night away,’ he added.Meanwhile, some of Kerina’s family members who also spoke at the occasion said they were not entirely happy with the lack of gratitude that Namibia has shown towards this national hero.The spokesperson of the family, Riundjee Katjaimo expressed his disappointment over government’s continued ‘dismissive’ attitude towards Kerina, who does not enjoy any recognition for his massive selfless contribution towards Namibia’s independence and post-Independence growth and development.’Did Kerina do something wrong to this government? Is this the government’s payback? Is this a benefiting birthday party?’ he questioned, as the guests in the audience nodded in agreement.Katjaimo suggested that Kerina deserves to have an office at State House [as assistant to the Head of State] and said he was supposed to have been the first citizen to benefit from the government’s resettlement programme.He called on Swapo-Party Chief Whip, Professor Peter Katjavivi, who was also a guest at the party, to convey that particular message to President Hifikepunye Pohamba.Well-known Swapo veteran politician Paul Helmut also used the occasion to express similar sentiments about the lack of national appreciation for individuals who have sacrificed their all and done great things for the liberation of the country.’It seems that only those who have done little for the country during the liberation struggle are receiving houses from government,’ he stated.Among the many achievements in Kerina’s life is the fact that he served as a consulting lecturer in the United States of America in 1979, and he was also an Associate Professor in the African Studies Department at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York from 1972 to 1975.He studied for his PhD in Political Science at the Pandjaran State University of Bandung, Indonesia, from 1960 to 1962 in legal courses by correspondence, following up on his law studies at the American Extension School of Law in Chicago, Illinois from 1953 to 1957.Kerina was one of the founding members of the Swapo Party. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1989 for the Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN), and served as a Member of Parliament (National Assembly) for the FCN and in later years for the National Unity Democratic Organisation.He was also a member of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), and served as a DTA member of the National Council as well as that party’s councillor for the Aminuis Constituency from 1998 to 2003.In 2010, Kerina announced that he had rejoined the ruling Swapo Party of Namibia.- Nampa