By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK – In real life, the late Bertholdt Kangavi Kasenee Himumuine was a well-respected educator and academic, a struggle icon who succumbed to a mysterious illness, which he contracted immediately after being released from prison, where he was tortured. He was as well an astute athlete who excelled in football and tennis and a man adored by local folklore for his immaculate sense of dress.
In death what is left of Himumuine is a deserted piece of land in the Pionierspark cemetery covered by a rusty piece of metal from an old car exhaust pipe. Only the family members know that the rusty iron pipe is an identification of Himunuine’s grave; for everyone it is simply an iron bar upon which one can tumble. The grave is a sorry state of affairs and in total contrast with the legendary status he enjoyed while still alive.
Yet, Himumuine is honoured by having a school named after him, the Bertholdt Himumuine Primary School in Katutura, and the Namibian Government bestowed on him, posthumously, the bronze Liberation Medal Award in 2002.
Himumuine worked closely and tirelessly as a political activist and was among those who worked with the Reverend Michael Scott to draft a petition to the United Nations (UN) and played an instrumental role in convincing the Ovaherero chieftaincy to have an audience with Scott at a secret gathering in Aminuis.
However, authorities got wind of his political activities and Himumuine found himself in prison after he was apprehended while having discussions with Scott at the Old Location cemetery.
He was released after three days of torture and put under house arrest before he mysteriously took ill. He eventually succumbed to his mysterious illness in 1954, aged 31.
Born in the small mining town of Karibib in the Erongo Region in 1923, the late Bertholdt Kangavi Kasenee Himumuine was certainly destined for the big stage as a mere lad. He was exposed to politics at a fairly young age during his time at the Augustineum High School near Okahandja in his formative years.
Upon completing his matric, he went to further his academic aspirations at the then popular Fort Hare University in South Africa alongside compatriots the equally scholastic Kapuuo siblings Clemence and Epson.
He completed his BA and returned to his native land where he took up a post as a school teacher in Aminuis before he was transferred to the city of lights, Windhoek, to take over the reins as school principal from Simon Pogosho, a South African national. A founder member of Juvenile Football Club, in later years to be known as African Stars, Himumuine became active in politics, joining the chorus of those who dared challenge the local authorities over the injustices and apartheid laws including the abolishment of Bantu Education.
The late Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero people, Hosea Katjikururume Kutako, roped him in as his legal adviser and personal assistant. He teamed up with political stalwarts Mburumba Seraera, Revered Karuaera, Tjirimuje, Dawid Meroro, and many others to advocate the cause of justice.