Simon J. Uirab
On Tuesday morning, Madame Lydia Kandetu was the bearer of the depressing news on the demise of a dear friend, colleague and a compatriot Moses Ndjarakana, former Secretary of the National Assembly from 2001-2005. Moses Ndjarakana put his monogram on the epistle of the 3rd May 2001, acceding my placement to the Secretariat of the hallowed institution called the “National Assembly”. As the proverbial saying goes “the rest is history”. Both of us were privileged to serve under the parliamentary leadership of the revered Dr Mosé Penaani Tjitendero.
During his tenure at the National Assembly, I got to know Moses as a man of his own world. A very professional individual as alluded by my niece Adv. Notemba Tjipueja, very composed and at times with no-nonsense attitude. For him the now mattered, there was no talk about tomorrow. He resembled men and women of good quality around him, which helped him serve the Tjitendero era with utmost dedication and commitment. Moses was not an easy man to jump over, you needed to have flesh on your bones if you dared to try that road. He portrayed principles of integrity to the appointing authority of the institution and those entrusted to lead the Namibian people, the elected representatives. He considered Tintenpalast and the sacred responsibility performed in that building, bigger than any individual or thought. At a given time Moses could be in Geneva, New York, Maputo or any other part of the world but come Friday night, Eiseb Block is where he must put his head on the pillow. For me it was not a coincident that his earthly life came to an end while in the radius of his beloved Eiseb Block. Eiseb Block was his treasure.
Moses Ndjarakana’s departure closes a rich chapter of biblical Moseses, whom I met, knew and worked with on my way up. They are amongst the greatest men of our time, I was able to rub shoulders with. The likes of Moses Mague //Garoëb, Moses Penaani Tjitendero (although he preferred to be call Mosé), Moses Katjiuongua and the fallen man himself, Moses Ndjarakana.
As we pause for a moment, reflect on the life and times of Moses Ndjarakana under the sun, we are comforted by the sure knowledge, that his was indeed a simple life, a life dedicated to serve humanity. The new normal demands things alien to us, as well as to forfeit our greatest treasure and humanity. These trying times put us in a very obstinate position that we are so much disabled to give a proper and dignified send-off to our departed collaborators, comrades and friends as our culture and nurture would demand.
As the gates of the heavens are widely opening and the ancestors standing tall at the tail end to welcome one of their own, one is left with no option but the reality that must sink into our veins that Moses Ndjarakana went home to rest from the labour of his hands. In the vicinity of Epukiro and in particular Eiseb Block, surviving ancestors have already communicated “Kaende naua, muatje uoja ndambi ja hengua”, till our footprints cross with the sunrise in the dunes of the famous Kalahari desert. That was Moses Ndajarakana to me, from the angle where I view the world.
May your Soul Rest Peacefully unto the Bosom of your Creator Moses!