George Nambinga is one of the fearless and great sons of the soil who fought countless battles during the liberation struggle. He never wavered in the adversity of fear or sort the comfort of resting after long and bitter years of ducking deadly enemy bullets.
This is perhaps best reaffirmed by the manner in which he conducted himself in 1985 when his company led by Sacky Awene, Commissar Napapwe and himself as company medical officer were assigned to attack the Otavi military base.
The day before departure, Nambinga was called by the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) Chief of Operations, Martin Shalli, to the unit commander’s office. Shalli advised Nambinga not to take part in missions anymore since he had spent many years on the battlefield fighting with an injured eye and therefore should no longer risk the other eye being injured.
“As you know I serve as PLAN Chief of Operations, and I decided to release you from taking part in tasks in Namibia and from today I want you to go live at our headquarters [Red Square],” in Angola, Namibinga quoted Shalli as having said.
But Nambinga refused. Instead he told Shalli that since there were only two days before departure and he was already armed and ready to fulfil his task, he should continue fighting the enemy.
“Whether it cost me life or death just let me go comrade,” Nambinga said to Shalli. “I looked at him then I started crying then he allowed me to go,” says Nambinga.
The following day his company departed from Angola to Namibia, spending almost two weeks marching southward crossing Oshivelo on the eastern side with the aim to pass between Tsumeb and Oshikoto Lake. However before reaching their destination they were spotted by the enemy who pursued them with sniffing dogs.
They were attacked and had to spend about four days manoeuvring between Tsumeb, Oshikoto Lake and areas around Mokuti Lodge. On the fourth day after the attack around evening their company decided to attack a section of the South African army observation post on the west side of Oshikoto Lake.
The South African army called in helicopters and reconnaissance planes for reinforcement, however they managed to shoot down one reconnaissance aircraft and one helicopter. Unfortunately seven of their comrades perished during battle, and only Nambinga and two other comrades survived. They later on regrouped themselves and joined three other comrades.
Following the first attack they were pursued with the help of sniffing dogs and the enemy tracked them down and according to Nambinga the situation was terrible as they did not have anything to drink.
Said Nambinga: “We managed to cross the Etosha Pan electric fence stretching from Oshivelo to Okaukweyo and pass near the old Onamutoni gate, but we were very thirsty.
“We spent the whole two days without water due to the fact all the water points were poisoned by the Boers. At around ten in the evening we found an onghili (a bush tortoise). We cut its throat to get the fresh blood to drink. I drank and from there it was better and we were able to move fast. But this was only for a short time. We later on experienced a hard thirst and we could not even move anymore. But the Boers with their helicopters were still following us. Three of our comrades were very tired and decided to stop. They dug their trenches waiting for the enemy for the final fight. We decided to go further and left them behind. Around five in the morning the Boers found them and they exchanged fire. I think they were all killed because we never saw them again up to now. We managed to cross the area of Ofema and Okangololoshe village near Omuthiya until we reached Angola,” Nambinga recollected.
Political and revolutionary inspiration
In 1965, at the age of seven, Nambinga for the first time heard his mother telling him that his brothers and uncles such as Julius Shilling the former Robben Island prisoner, Shalongo Shimbode and Peter Mweshihange (first Defence Minister) left Namibia for Tanganyika now Tanzania to fight in the liberation struggle. This prompted him to start listening to the ‘Voice of Namibia’ a Swapo radio service broadcasting from Tanzania.
Another event that sparked his political and revolutionary inspiration occurred in 1966. During that year Nambinga saw Mr Julius known by his combat name Kashuku Kamundola, being pursued by the South African air force and ground troops.
Julius was a member of the Group 2 (G2) commandos of the South West African Liberation Army (Swala), who were spotted by the South African Security Police whilst crossing the border into Namibia to join the Group 1 (G1) commandos who had already established a military base at Omugulugwombashe in the north.
Moreover in 1972, Nambinga witnessed the massacre of innocent people at Epinga village in Ohangwena Region. The people were killed whilst attending a meeting held by his elder brother Tomas Mweshihange who was a Swapo Coordinator in Walvis Bay.
The South Africans then came to disperse what they suspected was a Swapo meeting. A shooting ensued killing amongst others, Tomas Mweshihange and 26 others.
In 1974 two of his sisters Linea Nambinga-Jimmy and Vicky Hautoni who were schooling at St Marry Odibo high school also left the country for exile.
All these incidents drove Nambinga to join the liberation struggle. So on May 17 1975, he left for exile to join his fellow comrades, brothers and sisters to fight for the liberation of his motherland Namibia.
Military Training and Battlefields
Nambinga received his first military training in guerrilla warfare as a reconnaissance cadre at Efitu area inside Angola in 1976. After training he was assigned to the border in the area of Omanyele-Oheyoka villages.
This marked the beginning of his military engagement with enemy forces at the front. Shortly after his deployment, Nambinga’s company was engaged in a battle between Omanyele and Onghwiyu villages.
This came after his group attacked the South African troops at Ohaikedi Dam on the Namibia-Angola border. According to Nambinga, during this battle comrade Kalola and others sacrificed their lives.
A week later Nambinga’s unit under the command of Danger Ashipla, Shikuma and Masipa attacked Unita’s temporary base at Okangoya kaHamukoto village.
During this battle Nambinga was injured in the left eye and was taken to Cassinga for medical treatment. Early in 1977, after his medical treatment in Cassinga, Nambinga and comrade Hakuholeenghali and others in the Reconnaissance Section were selected to establish the ‘Tobias Hainyeko’ training centre. There he also underwent a military training for about one and a half months. Since he was one of the best performers together with comrade Zaire, Nakaudule and Ndjuluwa, they were selected to go for further military training to the former Soviet Union. However Nambinga refused to continue with his training.
“I refused that offer and decided to go back to the border together with a large group of PLAN fighters that was coming from training. Among these groups were comrade Christoph Nakanyala, Futa Lambaye and Nelson Nambinga well known by his combat name Ndjebo yaNepeti. This large group was then divided into different companies and deployed to different fronts such as the eastern front, northern front and western front. I was part of the group that was deployed to the northern front,” said Nambinga.
At the northern front, Nambinga was posted at the PLAN guerilla base at Okanghudi in Omanyele area and served under the command of comrade Hamukonda waNelumbu.
The Battles Continue
From the mid-1970s onwards Swapo vowed to intensify its military operations against the South African forces and military engagement was the order of the day. The following are some of the battles he fought.
In July 1977 Nambinga’s platoon, under the command of Hamukonda wa Nelumbu ambushed and attacked a platoon of South African soldiers at Etale laMutwewondjaba’ along the Namibia-Angola border in the vicinity of Ekonghola and Oshauhalwa villages. According to Nambinga, they defeated the South African army and captured some materials including two firearms. During this battle, none of the PLAN combatants were injured. A week later their platoon also engaged the Boers and Unita bandits along the border between Okwayuufuko and Omutwewondjaba villages near Eenhana.
In early October 1977, Nambinga’s group attacked the Boers and Unita bandits’ temporary base at Ohangwiilidi village. The battle took place at around 6 o’clock in the morning. According to Nambinga, six PLAN combatants sacrificed their lives but the enemy also suffered heavy losses. After the battle the enemy withdrew and went back to Namibia.
In 1978, Nambinga’s group ambushed the South African soldiers at Onambengu in Amuteya area. A battle ensued and this is what Nambinga remembers: “We were combined in two groups, one led by Kakuti and Amukwamo Wanadula. We injured and killed many of them, on our side only comrade Jimmy was seriously injured on the right leg. From there me, Tiger, Cuba and one other comrade that I cannot remember, were instructed to take comrade Jimmy [Sackeus Hanghome] to Angola for medical treatment. On our way to Angola at a village called Uukete, Oniiwe area near the cuca shop of tate Haimbodi yaShikulo, while we were resting a bit and waiting for food, suddenly we were attacked by the Boers who followed us. We opened fire against them and retreated with our injured comrade towards Angola. At around 6.30 in the evening we arrived at Ondobe village then we stopped at tate Kambwela’s cuca shop with the aim to buy some bread to eat. We left our injured comrade with two comrades to take care of him under a big omukwiyu tree. I and Tiger went into the cuca shop to buy some bread as we had spent the whole day without eating. While we were in the shop the Boers came. When we noticed the movement outside and tried to get out of the cuca shop, we collided head on with the Boers in the cuca shop’s door entrance and then exchanged fire with each other. The Boers moved backwards then we managed to escape.”
The battles that Nambinga fought are countless and any thorough account will possibly deserve a book on his biography.
But one other equally important battle that played a very crucial role in the history of Namibia’s armed liberation struggle was the one that resulted in the capture of South African soldiers at Elundu base inside Namibia. According to Nambinga, in 1978 PLAN was ordered to attack Elundu military base near Eenhana. During this exercise all eastern and northern detachments were given a responsibility to go ahead with this assignment.
Nambinga was part of the detachments of comrade Matimba and Kalunga Kondjafa which were grouped together. Around 2 o’clock midnight PLAN attacked both Elundu base and Eenghono village enemy outposts.
During the battle Kakuva Kembale’s platoon overran the South African military outpost and captured the enemy soldiers, and after that PLAN withdrew and went back to Angola.
The team that captured the enemy soldiers left the battle field first while Nambinga’s group kept firing back to provide cover for the retreating group.
Joining the Typhoon Unit
Perhaps owing to his exceptional skills and experience at the front Nambinga was chosen in August 1978 to join PLAN’s newly formed unit called Typhoon. As a member of the Typhoon Unit, Nambinga and his fellow combatants had to mainly operate beyond the Red Line, in Kavango and Kaokoland areas and southern Namibia.
He was indeed a force to be reckoned with in Namibia’s armed struggle for liberation.
Nambinga was born on the 3rd of March 1958 at Oshikunde village in Ohangwena Region and currently serves as a member of the Namibian Police in the Namibian Special Field Forces.
By Timoteus Mashuna