Loide Jason
The former Democratic Turnhalle Alliance president Katuutire Kaura died early yesterday morning in the Roman Catholic Private Hospital in Windhoek.
He was 80 years old. According to his son Kaura Kaura, the veteran politician was first admitted to the hospital on 22 December and discharged after six days.
“During the six days, my father was diagnosed with a physical ailment but discharged. After two days, he was readmitted on 30 December. After that, he was tested for the Covid-19 and the result came out positive. Therefore, his death is Covid-19-related,” he explained.
He is survived by 11 children and his wife. Kaura was DTA (now Popular Democratic Movement) president from 1998 until 2013 and stood as that party’s presidential candidate in 1999 and 2004, receiving 9.6% and 5.12% of the votes, respectively.
In 2015, he was appointed special advisor to the governor of the Kunene region by President Hage Geingob. PDM president McHenry Venaani described Kaura’s death as a loss to the political fraternity in the country.
“It is a sad moment for Namibia. Kaura was a very active politician, a constitution writer, long serving parliamentarian, he was twice a leader of the official opposition, a historical encyclopedia, a forthright academic, a great hunter and a good leader. He told people last year that if his last day comes, I should play a role in the arrangement of his funeral,” he said.
Venaani said they had a student-teacher relationship. Geingob, through his official Twitter page, extended his condolences to Kaura’s immediate family.
“I have learned with sadness about the passing of honourable Katuutire Kaura. During this hour of grief, I wish to convey sincere condolences to his wife Vicky, the children, the Kaura and Mbuende families. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
The PDM in a statement yesterday said, “the death of the late honourable Kaura robs the Namibian political sphere of a wealth of experience.”
Kaura went into exile in the United States of America in the 1970s. He worked as a teacher at Nyack High School in New York until 1978 and at Rockland Community College until 1975. At the same time, Kaura was studying at Long Island University and Columbia University.
Before he was promoted to party president of the DTA, he was vice president from 1989. Kaura assumed the presidency after his predecessor Mishake Muyongo was expelled from the party.
On 7 September 2013, Kaura surprisingly lost the leadership election to McHenry Venaani.
He later joined the governing Swapo party.