Africa-Press – Namibia. CHARMAINE NGATJIHEUE and SHELLEYGAN PETERSEN FORMER cabinet minister Richard Kamwi says the late Kazenambo Kazenambo, popularly known as KK, was a unifier who spoke about healing Swapo.
Kamwi, who spoke at Kazenambo’s memorial service on Tuesday, questioned whether Namibians and Swapo listened to the advice made available by the late KK.
“He spoke about unity, especially in the Swapo party. And he spoke about healing Swapo after the 2017 congress and the concomitant degenerative Fishrot scandal. He spoke about racism and tribalism. Did we listen? Can we listen? Are we listening to this outcry?” The former health minister asked.
He further said he was amazed by KK’s humility and humanity, and how he would make jokes with people he had previously exchanged strong views with. “In a big house like Swapo, views are not always the same,” Kamwi noted.
The former minister believes that with KK’s death the country’s political space lost the voice of reason and clarity. “If we look deeper within us and if we listen more carefully, we will find that that was the message he wanted to relay. He spoke to all. Every Namibian has a word or two to recall from the late comrade,” Kamwi said.
Kamwi said in his last few months, KK seemed to have been speaking to a wall when he spoke about the genocide negotiations. “It hurt him. It infuriated him. All he yearned for was an ear and a sort of reconciliation for the sake of the party,” Kamwi said.
KK, before he ended up in the hospital over a month ago, had petitioned the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the responsibility to protect to intervene on the recently ended genocide negotiations between Namibia and Germany.
A member of the Ovambanderu people, Mbakumua Hengari, who spoke in his personal capacity, described KK as an idealist from a young age, saying he always followed through with the plans and ideas he came up with.
He further explained that one of the actions the late Kazenambo took was choosing to go fight for Namibia’s independence without even knowing where the country was because he was born in Botswana.
“He chose to go and fight for an idea of a homeland he heard about from his grandparents. He was 19 when he left Botswana, where he was born. Him coming to Namibia was just an idea, of a land he was told about,” Hengari noted, saying this was the reason KK joined the liberation struggle.
The friend also described KK as having been principled and respectful towards himself, which translated into him respecting others. “He was highly principled. When there were certain things he did not agree on with people, he would meet one halfway,” Hengari added.
He further said one of the things KK would be remembered for is his passion for seeking restorative justice on the 1904-1908 genocide, leading to him single-handedly writing a petition to the United Nations to intervene in the deal Namibia recently struck with Germany.
“The idea of reparations meant everything, including what we fought for,” he said.
