Defence minister Frans Kapofi yesterday unveiled a committee tasked with exhuming and re-interning the remains of the country’s liberation struggle martyrs.
The committee is led by former Plan combatant and ex-Cabinet minister Charles Namoloh, who fought under the nom de guerre ‘Ho Chi Minh’.
The Namoloh-led committee will work to ensure that the fallen heroes and heroines are given dignified burials and their legacies preserved for future generations.
Addressing the committee, Kapofi emphasised the importance of honouring the sacrifices made by those who fought for Namibia’s independence.
“This is a crucial task that will help us remember and celebrate the bravery and resilience of our martyrs,” he said.
The committee, comprising a mix of military veterans and experts, will travel across the country to identify and exhume the remains of Plan combatants buried in shallow graves or unburied in former operational areas.
Their remains will then be re-interred at designated memorial sites, ensuring that they are properly preserved and honoured.
“The idea to honour our fallen heroes and heroines started shortly after independence, hence the Heroes’ Acre, Eenhana Shrine, Omugulugombashe, and Ondeshifilwa monuments were built. It is also for the same reason that tombstones have been and continue to be erected on some of the graves of the martyrs that are in villages and forests in Namibia,” he said.