Mukwahepo: Women Soldier Mother

6. The Coming of Independence

6 THE COMING OF INDEPENDENCE We received the news about the implementation of UN Resolution 435 in June of 1989. We were at Kwanza-Sul, going about our business as usual, when suddenly there was an urgent call from the camp commander for all residents to speedily gather at the parade. When we arrived there, we saw that we had visitors. The camp commander called the parade to order and immediately introduced Comrade Nekongo, the first camp commander of Kwanza-Sul, who had just arrived from the SWAPO headquarters in Luanda. Comrade Nekongo in turn introduced the visiting SWAPO delegation. He told us that the purpose of their mission was to bring the delegation from the United Nations to Kwanza-Sul. He said that they had to deliver a very important message in the presence of the UN delegates, and that we should listen well. He said that if we needed clarity, we should feel free to ask questions openly. The official from SWAPO headquarters told us that the negotiations at the United Nations regarding the implementation of UN Resolution 435 had been successful. The UN member countries, including those with veto powers, had all voted in favour of the implementation of Resolution 435. This meant the beginning of the peaceful transition to independence for Namibia. He told us that the South African government had also agreed to the implementation of the UN resolution. SWAPO had made its commitmentandhadfullyendorsedtheUNdecision.Hesaid,‘Youmust therefore all return to your rooms and start packing your belongings because you are going home. SWAPO is going home to prepare its political campaign for the planned independence election. Amongst other things, UN Resolution 435 stipulates that a free and fair election must be held in Namibia to determine the political party that is going to rule the country after independence. We will have to prepare an election Mukwahepo – woman soldier mother 100 campaign to explain to the Namibian people why they should vote for us, what development programmes we have for the country, and what we would do for the country if we were to take over the government. There are several procedures we will have to follow.’ We were also told that on our arrival in Namibia, we should return to our homes, our villages, our towns from where we originally came. We were told that when we arrived home we should integrate ourselves back into society; that we should not isolate ourselves from our brothers and sisters. They explained to us that repatriation was voluntary; that no one was beingforcedintoit.Wewereinformedthat,firstly,eachNamibianresident of Kwanza-Sul who chose to be repatriated was to be photographed and issued with an identity document. This would be the person’s passport to get to Namibia. We were to carry this travel document at all times so that we could be identified throughout our journey from Angola to Namibia. The UN delegates who had accompanied the SWAPO officials were responsible for this registration process, and they wanted to start as soon as the meeting had ended. The UN officials did not say anything during the meeting. They merely observed, and listened to what the SWAPO official was saying to us. They waited patiently for the meeting to end to see whether people would come forward to be registered for the voluntary repatriation to Namibia. This news, although positive and long awaited, seemed too good to be true. It came as a shock, even though we had awaited it for years and years. It was too sudden. The people were so stunned that when Comrade Nekongo asked whether there were any questions, or if anything needed clarification, the whole parade was silent. Not a single question was asked. There was nothing to say. The delegation from Luanda then started with the registration process. They asked the people who were ready to be repatriated to line up so they could be photographed. One by one we were photographed. The person who took our photographs gave each of us a number. We then moved to the next queue, where we presented our number and were registered. The registration officers asked us for a lot of information, which they wrote onto a very long form. Amongst other things, they 101 The Coming of Independence asked for our name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, the year we had joined SWAPO, the year we had gone into exile. They asked whether...