Alexactus T. Kaure
The late Jacobus Axali Doeseb died on 27 October this year. His passing led to a heated debate as to who wrote the lyrics of the country’s national anthem. Was it a one-man show, sitting somewhere there, in Katutura, composing the anthem, or was it a collective effort?
As Kennedy Hamutenya, the son of the late Hidipo Hamutenya, puts it, “the truth is in heaven”. I am not interested in that controversy here. My issue here is the rather hyperbolic manner in which he has been recognised by the government as compared to other Namibians, who have equally contributed like him or even more. For a start, Doeseb was conferred a State funeral.
President Hage Geingob said, ‘Doeseb would receive this recognition for his remarkable contribution to Namibia’. The President said, by composing the ‘Namibia, Land of the Brave’, Doeseb helped shape the nation’s identity.
“His exceptional work in composing the national anthem shines bright and shall never be forgotten,” said Geingob. The good words and the State funeral were not the end of the accolades, though. Geingob also declared a period of national mourning for Doeseb and has ordered all flags in Namibia, including diplomatic missions abroad, to be flown at the mast for the duration of the period of mourning. This has never happened in the country before.
We are also told that, ‘in recognition of his exceptional deeds, Doeseb was awarded with all-expenses-paid travel to all the countries, where Namibia has diplomatic representations.
Geingob also said, “A decision was taken a while back by the government to award a whopping N$2 million to Doeseb as a further token of appreciation for his work as the writer and composer of the national anthem”. We are told the money would be paid to his wife and children.
The point here is the national anthem talk of the country, Namibia.
Now, who coined the name Namibia?
When president Suharto of Indonesia asked Prof. Mburumba Kerina what they would call his country after independence, Kerina said, “Let me sleep on it”.
The following morning, he told Suharto it would be called Namibia. Suharto was curious to know why. Kerina said it is a derivative of our Namib Desert. In June 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, proclaiming that, in accordance with the desires of its people, South West Africa be renamed Namibia.
Today, we all call ourselves Namibians. That is our national identity. When you travel around the world, people do not ask you about your national anthem but the country you come from. Do not forget that from 1956 onwards, Kerina was among the first petitioners to the United Nations for Namibian independence on behalf of the Herero Chiefs’ Council, with others like Michael Scott and Fanuel Kozonguizi being part of the earlier petitioners of our case at the United Nations in New York. It was also the same Kerina who changed the name ‘OPO’ to Swapo. Kerina is also the author of ‘Namibia, the Making of A Nation’, published in 1981; this is the first historical work by a black Namibian about the transition of the country from being a colony to being independent. He was also part of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the country’s Constitution and, subsequently, the National Assembly.
But in retrospect, his contribution did not merit the same recognition that is being accorded to Doeseb from the Swapo-led government, nor from the OvaHerero/Mbanderu tribal leadership.
Let them both rest in eternal peace!
* Alexactus T. Kaure is a freelance writer.