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3. Military Training in Kongwa
- University of Namibia Press
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3 MILITARY TRAINING IN KONGWA Icannot remember the exact date, but it was during the month of July 1964 that we finally arrived in Tanganyika23 after an eventful journey of more than a year, which had taken us from Namibia through Angola, the Congo, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. I have also forgotten the name of the small town in the Mbeya Region which was our port of entry into Tanganyika. Two SWAPO representatives were there to meet us, namely Comrades Peter Katjavivi and Eliander Mwatale. They received us well, bought us food, and put us onto another bus that took us from the Mbeya Region to Dar es Salaam. We arrived in Dar es Salaam in the early morning hours and found Comrades Peter Nanyemba and Peter Mweshihange waiting for our arrival. They welcomed us warmly and took us to a SWAPO house in Dar es Salaam. On arrival in Tanganyika, we immediately realised that we had indeed found our fellow countrymen who had left Namibia before us. They were well organised and had lobbied for support and recognition. While I was in Dar es Salaam, Comrade Vinia Ndadi invited me to speak on the External Service of Radio Tanganyika.24 The Tanganyika Broadcasting Corporation25 had generously provided a radio slot for SWAPO to broadcast its plans and programmes to the whole world. This service was pioneered by Comrade Mosé Tjitendero, after which he was awarded a scholarship to study in the USA. He was succeeded by Comrade Nangolo Ithete, who soon afterwards also received a 23 The mainland of Tanzania became a German colony called Tanganyika in 1884 whilst the Sultanate of Zanzibar became a British Protectorate in 1890. Tanganyika became a British mandated territory in 1918 and achieved independence in 1961. In 1963 Zanzibar achieved independence, and a year later formed a union with Tanganyika called the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed Tanzania. 24 The name was later changed to Radio Tanzania. 25 The name was later changed to the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation. Mukwahepo – woman soldier mother 32 scholarship to study in Yugoslavia. Comrade Nicky Iyambo took over from Comrade Ithete, and not long after that he, too, was awarded a scholarship to study in Finland. SWAPO was actively looking for scholarships from all over the world to send its young people to study because education was at the centre of all its programmes and activities. Comrade Vinia Ndadi, who had recently arrived in Dar es Salaam from Namibia, was asked to take over from Comrade Iyambo. When we arrived, Comrade Ndadi was the Supervisor of SWAPO Programmes at the External Service of Radio Tanganyika. He invited me to talk on the radio about our journey, and to send a message of my choice to fellow Namibians and the world at large. Radio was one of the most effective mediums for SWAPO to reach out to the world, and it was maximised and used effectively throughout the struggle. The programme ‘Voice of Namibia’ later expanded its broadcasting to Addis Ababa, Cairo, Lusaka, Luanda and Brazzaville. I was very happy for this opportunity to speak on the radio, especially becauseonecouldspeakinthelanguageofone’schoice.Iwasilliterateand could not speak English, so I spoke in my mother tongue, Oshiwambo. I decided to tell my fellow Namibian listeners that Mukwanangobe Aguste yaImmanuel was greeting them from SWAPO, which was broadcasting from the External Service of Radio Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam. I said that Tanganyika was an independent African country that had liberated itself from colonial rule. The people of Tanganyika had fought for their independence, had won, and were now free from foreign domination. I informed them that Tanganyika was hosting us so that we could prepare to fight for our independence and be free, like most nations of the world. I called on all able Namibians to join us in exile to receive the education which we were denied at home by the colonial government. I emphasised the importance of education to prepare ourselves for successfully administering our country after independence. I also called on all able Namibians to join our independence struggle and to stand together to rid our motherland of the enemy so that we could become independent like Tanganyika, from which the broadcast was coming. I said that we had to free ourselves from the yoke of colonialism and apartheid, and that if we just sat down and did nothing about the political situation in our country, no one would bring us...