By Lieutenant Colonel Constancio Mwandingi
Welcome home my gallant hero, Eneas Peter Nanyemba! Welcome back my friend! I trust you can now allow me to “tell anyone,” because you are home.
You are back in your motherland the land that you selflessly fought for so that we enjoy our freedom.
I can now tell everyone, without fear or favour, for we are finally free and independent as you wished.
I trust you can now allow me to report about the mission that you accomplished after “crossing many rivers of blood.” We have conquered our oppressors.
Through our long march, we achieved your life-long dream.
Your mission was accomplished successfully, Ndilimani, because the independence of the Land of the Brave was achieved, my hero.
I trust since we said our goodbyes on 01 April 1983. You will now allow me to “tell anyone” and everyone, because I am happy that you are now finally home.
You left first, but I arrived first home.
We all came home our separate ways but collectively insist to be heroes without fear or favour.
I am happy because Namibia for which you made great sacrifices is independent. Namibia for which you made your best contribution is free from oppression.
You found us. Some of the other freedom fighters might still have to come home Ndilimani. Others might never come as “their blood waters our freedom’ forever. We may not know which path they followed, but we know the aim was independence and freedom from apartheid and colonialism.
I am happy that I was lucky to serve under your astute and resolute leadership.
I thought I was far away from you that you could not put your trust in me. I thought I was simply following your orders and your extraordinary feats to liberate Namibia, to free the Namibian people, Ndilimani.
I didn’t know that you had plans for me. I didn’t know that you would groom me to become who I am today. I didn’t know it, until you ordered my return from Luanda with General Shaanika. I was simply following your orders to the letter and spirit, as a Cuban-trained PLAN soldier. In 1982, I almost disobeyed your orders when General Shaanika told me that you wanted me back in Lubango, while others were going to Libya to become fighter pilots and qualified artillerists.
I didn’t know then that you would define and shape my life trajectory to date, my hero. I didn’t know that despite surviving the deathly Canjila ambush and reaching Luanda, after a second attempt, you had other ideas for me. You had another equally important mission for me. Nevertheless, as a PLAN soldier, I obeyed your orders faithfully.
I didn’t understand until Gen Shaanika brought me back to ‘Omaruru Base” in Lubango again. ‘Omaruru Base,’ our base, our home, our headquarters, from where you led us like a family to the envy of your competitors and adversaries alike.
But you never failed to inspire ‘Ndilimani’. You never failed to lead, to strategise, to support and to promote for Namibia’s liberation.
I admire and remain inspired by your tireless fortitude and exuberance. There was always, day after day, something to do at ‘Omaruru’ or from ‘Omaruru’ to other PLAN units. But if there were nothing, you would take us to the shooting range and let us fire all types of weaponry, from pistol to tanks.
I admire that plans and thoughts flowed constantly and effortlessly from your mind, your brain appeared to be in constant rotating gear towards the liberation of Namibia, towards the liberation of our people ‘Ndilimani’.
I didn’t know that my life-changing mission would come. I still remember vividly that afternoon, as I was doing my routine sentinel duty, you ‘Comrade Secretary’, calmly walked towards me, called me and said: “Mwiya, I am assigning you to a unit where you will be translating Spanish, but don’t tell anyone about it, not even those of Omaruru Base.”
I could hardly respond, ‘Comrade Secretary’, but I hope you heard and understood my inaudible reply.
As your foot soldier, I took the order seriously and never told “anyone” about my life-changing assignment. However, I hope it is now time ‘Ndilimani’, to tell “anyone” and everybody about the assignment you gave me, because you and “anyone” need to know that the mission was successfully accomplished.
What started as a novel ended in reality ‘Ndilimani’. Although I had sleepless nights following our one-on-one encounter and assignment of the mission, “to go and translate Spanish, but don’t tell anyone.”
I kept wondering where, when, who and how, while having my meagre belongings and gear packed, without telling anyone.
The episode evolved when the late Tate Sacky picked me up one afternoon from ‘Omaruru Base’, in 1982, and as a loyal soldier, I followed to be dropped off at what would become ‘Torpedo Unit.’
Thank you ‘Ndilimani’ for deciding my life. Thank you for the opportunity and honour to learn, to “translate” and eventually interpret Spanish.
The chances to teach, lead, command, survive, achieve, win and accomplish the mission as assigned by you, my friend.
On the fateful day of goodbye, 01 April 1983, my sixth sense told me that you were gone forever.
Despite being accustomed to seeing you driving, when you left the ‘Torpedo Unit’ that ill-fated day driving that “Puch” vehicle, just after our first graduation of combat-tested PLAN cadres, my whole body shivered. I later realised that it was an indication that you were departing ‘Ndilimani’, until we meet again in this manner.
This is how we were destined to meet, my hero.
Therefore, I am proud to “tell anyone” and everyone today that we fearlessly and shrewdly followed in your footsteps, inspired by your example, your dedication to the liberation struggle and your unique ingenuity.
Nobody knew that Cuito Cuanavale would become the turning point of the liberation war and expedite freedom and independence for Namibia.
Now everyone knows that Cuban MiGs flying from Cahama won the war following the vanquishing of apartheid racist troops at Calueque.
In spite of everything there were many more other deplorable 1st of Aprils, before the actual dawn of Namibia’s independence on 21 March 1990.
Now “anyone” knows ‘Ndilimani’, that you continue to inspire us to confront new challenges after independence. You inspire us to confront many other challenges such as economic inequality, poverty, joblessness, and HIV/AIDS with the same vigour.
Welcome home ‘Ndilimani’!
The author of this piece, Lieutenant Colonel Constancio Hishiyukifa ‘Mwiya waNelindi’ Mwandingi, is a veteran of the liberation struggle and is a serving member of the NDF.