Maggy Thomas

OMUTHIYA – As Namibians commemorate Heroes Day, countless stories serve as reminders of the sacrifices, blood, and resilience of freedom fighters. Among them is the harrowing, yet inspiring, journey of Swapo activist Richard Mchali Kamwi.

Born in Munga, located in the Chobe District of Botswana, Kamwi became a Swapo activist in 1974. His life took a sharp turn on 28 October 1985, when he was arrested in Katima Mulilo while talking to fellow activist, the late Aaron Mushimba, at the only phone booth in town.

“They took me to the charge office, where they interrogated me about the things I did, including security-related responses from Sam Nujoma. The following morning, they put me in a sack, tied it, and transported me to Kalimbeza, where they tortured me endlessly,” Kamwi recalled in an interview with Nampa.

The brutality was relentless.

“They placed negative wires on my left foot and positive wires on my right foot, counted to 10, and if I refused to answer truthfully, they would press the electric shock and electrocute me.”

Despite the unimaginable pain, Kamwi said he endured it because he had been prepared by Brigadier General James Awala and the late Mathew Kamedo.

“At night, they untied and handcuffed me. The ropes on my feet were tied to their beds, and I would not move the whole night. By the time they took me back to the torture room, I would have blood oozing from my body, and I would be crying in pain. I would not eat or drink anything, just endure torture,” he recalled.

For three months, he was subjected to this severe torture – his hands and feet tied and starvation compounding his suffering.

Mocked by his captors, Kamwi was often asked why he did not cry for Nujoma, to which he would reply by denying any connection.

On 29 January 1986, Kamwi was taken on a boat by top security officials. Heavy rains that night provided him with an opportunity.

“I realised the Boers were still sleeping. A bold idea came over me, and I decided to untie my feet. The rope came off, and I went outside while it was still raining and started running towards Kalimbeza.”

For hours, Kamwi ran and hid, seeking help from relatives and acquaintances, but fear of reprisals caused many to turn him away.

“I would run and stop and listen to hear if anyone was following me,” said Kamwi.

He initially ran towards the road with the aim of crossing into Zambia at Schuckmansburg, but realising that security forces would likely arrest him there, he decided to head towards Bukalo instead.

“I decided to go look for my cousin, Mulenamazwe, who was a teacher. I told him I needed transport, but unfortunately his car had been taken by his older brother,” Kamwi recalled.

Desperate, the two then approached the school principal, but he refused to lend them a vehicle.

“Without securing any transport, I decided to walk to Iikumwe school, where I planned to see my neighbour. I told him that I had escaped and that I was headed to Botswana,” said Kamwi.

His neighbour offered him a cold drink and biscuits to boost his strength.

While continuing on foot, Kamwi spotted a vehicle belonging to a man known to collaborate with the occupying forces.

“I dashed into the bushes and kept walking until I was near my village, where Thomas Nulwino saved my life,” he recalled.

Nulwino, after hearing his story, drove towards Ngoma to survey the road, where he spotted two roadblocks. He armed Kamwi and advised him to proceed on foot towards Iikumwe.

By sunrise, Kamwi reached his family’s field, where he found his relatives weeding.

“They were all shocked to see me. I told my mother to thank the Lord. She accompanied me to the river, but I asked her to return home out of fear that the Boers might catch us. She told me to go with the Lord and to come back for them,” he says.

Just as he entered the bushes again, Kamwi saw a helicopter flying towards his village. He hurried across the river and into Botswana, where his grandmother’s family took him in and cared for him before reporting to the Kasane police, who admitted him to hospital.

“I was swollen and feeling sick,” Kamwi said. After a week in the ICU in Lusaka, he was sent to Luanda, then to Lubango, where he met Deputy Army Commander Jesus Awala.

“He met me when I was very weak and he took me to his camp,” Kamwi said.

There, he spent months regaining his strength before resuming training and eventually returning to the frontlines of Namibia’s liberation struggle.

Kamwi still bears scars from the torture. He suffers from lasting effects of electrocution and cannot hold small objects. For him, observance days like Independence Day and Heroes Day are bittersweet. “It is a reminder that all these good things did not come on a silver platter. Sacrifices were made, people died for this country,” he said.

After Namibia gained its independence in 1990, Kamwi went on to serve as Minister of Health and Social Services from 2005 to 2015. 

Today, he is a commercial farmer, but his story remains a testament to the resilience, bravery, and sacrifices of Namibia’s freedom fighters. -Nampa.