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'Wc apologise for any incomplete or incorrect acknomwledgemnents. Cover photograph: Eliaser lTuhadeleni, also know n as Kaxtimba kaNdola, in the late 1980s after his release fromn 18~ years of imprisonmient on Robben Island, South Africa, and variouls other Southi African and Namnihian prisons. Photographer: 1'nlknoxsn. Nlap: 'Namnibia', has been adapted fromn I/Alä of NXwnibi(i. A1 Poi-ajt ofticLalldalldits People by John Nlendelsohn, Alice JurN is. Carole Roberts, and Tony Rohertson. Cape 1'ossn: 1>ohlishecd for thc Nlinistry of Ens ironment and 'Iburism by D)avid Philip Publishers, 2002. Lavout design: Al-TA Nlarketing Kommunikation AG, Basel Printing: 'lypoprinr (Ptv ) Ltd.- Windhoek (Namnibia) ISBIN 3 905141 86S ISS\ 1660- 9638 Contents Foreword, by Andimba Toivo yaToiuo VII Acknowledgements IX Who Was Kaxumba kaNdola? 1 Excelling at an Early .\ic 4 Okaholo 6 The South \\est African Native Labour Associarion 7 On the Iarmn 9 Krantzberg \line Strike (1943) 11 The Workers 13 Kaxumba Gets Nlarried 18 Kaxumba as a N lcmber of the Comnitunmr 20 Political Formation 25 The Land Question 20 The Contract Labour S\'stcm 29 Namutoni 31 Resolving Workers' Problems 32 Campaigning and Nlobilising 35 Kaxumba Is Arrested 37 The Judgement 39 Kaxumba Is Deported 39 Meeting Chief Kaningwalenga 42 Nieeting Native Commissioner Strydom 43 The 'Save Kaxumba' Efforts 45 Is Kaxumba Dead? 46 Kaxumba Returns and S\WAPO Meetings Resume 48 .\I Father and His Politics 49 III Namibia, the International Community, and the Military Option 53 The Visit by I'N Envoy Victorio Carpio 53 The International Court of J ustice 55 Going into Exile 56 Kaxumba Receives the First PLAN Combatants 59 Kaxumba's Htomestead Is Attacked 61 Another Group of Combatants Arrives 64 IV Omugulu gwombashe Attacked 66 The Security Police, Nleme Priskila, and the Children 69 Winning the Hearts and Nlinds 79 Kaxumba under Co\ er e3 V The Legend 88 l'the 1971/72 Vorker, Strike, 92 I)id Kaxtudha I lax e Eremnicx? 93 VI The Hero Falls into the Enemy's Net 96 I lush-i I ush 96 lcmnoric and Rememlrance 99 Mccting Shiitorondo l 100 Intcrrogation 1(2 'The I'rial 104 'The International (Commniflt\ and the 'Tlihadeleni Trial 118 ''he DaN of Judgement 11(0 VII Robben Island 114 Ch1 orchi Service 1210 Visits to Robben Island Prison 12)0 Mcnimc Priskila Visits Robben Island 121 'hc Police "I'ormented M C upon Nl\ Return 125 Letter from Robhcn Island 12.8 Visiting Nl )ad on Robhen Island 128 Disabled for iLife 130 VIII Kaxumba Freed 134 lemec Priskila 134 Security Irolcinms 136 Escape into Exile 139 IX The Return Home 142 Acronyms 146 Glossary 147 Illustrations 149 Bibliography 151 Index (Names, Organisations, Places) 153 Foreword Kaxumba kaNdola, also kno\ n as I'liascr 'Tlhadelen i, is well remembered for the sacrifice and cnormous contribution he and his familh made to\\ ards the struggle for the freedom and liberation of Namibia. In northern Namibia, he is still remembered as a man of mx th and legend, as a pillar of strength and courage to stand up against colonial domination and apartheid. Kaxumba w as a very peaceful man, \\ho had no tolerance for injustice, lie \\as a hardworking man, c\ en in his old agc. When he returned to his borne after Namibia had at last gained freedom, Kaxumba still had the energy to rebuild his house \\ith his bare hands w ith hardis an\ financial support. I met the late Eliascr Tuhadelcni when he \as a gua\ a seller at Oluno, and again later when I arri\ ed in Cape Town in June 1 952, where I found him \\ orking for a construction company. The late Tuhadeleni was a generous man, who accommodated all the Namibian nc\coners in Cape lim n. The narie Kaxuimba kaNdola originates from when lie ised to sing in church. The name literally means 'the organ of kndola'. \\hen he left Cape To" n around about 135 , he bought two Organs, one for the church and one for himself. Comrade Kaxumba was courageous and fearless. For instance, when he was arrested and kept in the house of headman Elia \\'c\ ul for a long period of time, he got so fed Lip with his house arrest one day, that he decided to leave \\ ith his handcuff", on and go home. No one followed him. Once, when there was a conflict in Ombalantu between headman Kaimbi and members of SWAPM (South West Africa People's Organisation), which led to the arrest of Comrade Benvamin (Shimbu), Comrade Shimbu was placed in the headman's kraal inder house arrest. He too, one day, decided to walk as\ ay with his handcuffs on and reported to Comrade Kaxumba's home. Kaxumba removed the handcuffs and took them to Ondangwa to \Ir Webber, who was the equivalent of the l)eputy Native Commissioner. Shimbu was freed and people wondered at how e\en the Commissioner just let Kaxumba have his swaN. Kaxumba \\ as an excellent organiser, an outstanding speaker, and an honest man. He was highly respected by the contract workers for w hom he acted as spokesperson. He \\ as a politician, who knew how to talk to the people in order to get their support. His disads antage lay in his lack of education. Kaxumba did not get proper schooling and he could not express himself well in languages other than his mother tongue. Those Of us who were there remember that the political meetings, held under the banner of OPO (Ovamboland People's Organisarion) and later SWAPO, were called ooongiyaKaxumha (Kaxumba's rallies), because he was the main mobiliser. When SWAPO sent its first combatants from Tanzania to Namibia in 1965, they were given clear instructions by the Party to report to Comrade Eliaser Tuhadeleni Kaxumba kaNdola, because of his self-sacrificing nature, generosity, honesty, and dedication to the liberation struggle. His house became the first SWAPO military base inside Namibia, until the South African police force started looking for combatants there. There was a shoot-out at a cuca shop belonging to a Portuguese businessman at Ehenge Lomushii in Angola. After a police investigation, it was found that some of the ammunition was Russian made. This gave rise to the police's suspicious, leading to a raid on Comrade Tuhadeleni's home. The combatants then moved away with their ammunition to establish other bases in the bush. Kaxumba joined them and was made second-in-command. In cuc course, the Sooth African apartheid regime arrested Kaxumha and sentenced him to life imprisonment on Rohbcn Island. I lis legacy li\ cs on even after his death. It is the legacy of peopie like the late ka\timha that li\ cs on, helping us to remember, to look back, to understand wvho \\ c havc been and who \\ c are and from where we have come, and hopefully pa\ c the \\aI aor oir dcstin. For those wiho wish to undcrstand the political dynamics of the liberation struggle from the point of \ ic\ of people at the grassroots, and the mass mobilisation of the people to support and join the struggle for liberation, I urge " ou to read this book. It was not easy to mobilise the people to stand up for their rights, and to rise against a powerful, oppressix e colonial government that used its entire means to crush any opposing views. Our thanks go to our founding fathers, the un\ avcring 'T1hadeleni and others, who kept the fire of the struggle burning. liua Comrade 'lihadeleni., lhaalutt itiua. Andimba Jl'ivo vaToivo April 2005 Acknowledgements This book has many grandmothers and grandfathers to whom I am grateful. Writing is a vcry lonely affair and at some stage the writer needs to debate about her work, especially when writing about the life history of a public figure about whom almost everyone forms their own opinions. The subject, Kaxumba kaNdola, also known as Noah Eliaser Tuhadeleni, has a tender appeal to many Namibians and some even speak as if they owned him. So, when I started this research, I was \ ery privileged to have the assistance of )r Mose Tjitendero in discussing Kaxumba kaNdola, and he encouraged me to put my scattered thoughts into print. I want to thank Ndahambelela Rosalia Tuhadeleni without whom this book would not have been. She was very helpful in pointing out a number of areas in her father's life on which most of my themes were built. She was alw ay s available to me to discuss or ask any questions.