22 August 1924: Born at Omangundu village newe Ondangwa
1950: Graduated as a teacher at St Mary’s School
1951: Left for Cape Town, South Africa
1952 – 1953: Worked as a railway police officer
1957: Joined the African National Congress (ANC) at Cape Town
1957: Co-founded the Ovamboland People’s Congress (OPC), forerunner of the Ovamboland People’s Organization (OPO)
1958: Sent a petition to the United Nations, with the assistance of Mburumba Kerina and Michael Scott
1960: Appointed secretary-general after OPO reconstituted itself as Swapo
1966: Arrested and taken to Pretoria, where he and other Namibians were tortured and interrogated
1967: Put on trial with 36 other Namibians
1968: Sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and incarcerated at Robben Island (he spent most of his time in solitary confinement)
1 March 1984: Released from Robben Island
1984: Became a member of the Swapo Central Committee and Politburo and elected Swapo secretary-general
November 1989 to March 1990: Member of the Constituent Assembly
1990: Became a member of the National Assembly and appointed minister of mines and energy
1993: Married Vicky Erenstein
March 1999: Appointed minister of labour
August 2002: Appointed minister of prisons
2004: Chose not to run for a seat in the National Assembly in time for 2004 general election
2007: Failed to be elected to the Swapo Politburo for the first time in the party’s history
9 June 2017: Passed away at the age of 92