On 4 March 2023, I was part of a group of about 200 mourners who laid Preskilla Dantago Ngairo to rest at Okahandja. I also had the honour to preach at the funeral.

In the early nineties, after I had returned from political exile, I started to attend a small church in Katutura’s Filippense street, nearby the Namibia English Primary School. The group was so small that on a typical Sunday, we could easily fit in the pastor’s small living room.

That church happened to be the Followers of Christ Church (FCC), which was founded and led by the late Ananias Mbarunga. I had the honour to serve as the secretary general of this church and was thus the de facto right-hand man of the senior pastor. This church has now moved to a new state-of-the-art facility and they now boast a membership of close to 400 followers.

The church had an Okahandja-based branch, which was led by Johannes Ngairo and his late wife Preskilla. I came to know the Ngairo couple during the meetings and fellowships of this church. I want to celebrate the life of this remarkable woman, both as a Christian and as a cosmopolitan (someone who was open to other cultures). As a Christian, she was a woman of prayer and a great singer, who passionately loved her God and the people of her God. 

She had such a generous spirit and one of her sisters-in-law testified at the funeral that Preskilla would share her last meal with everyone who happened to be visiting them at any given time. In African culture, it is very rare for a wife to be loved by her in-laws, especially if she comes from a different cultural background, but judging from the tribute of the sister-in-law, one could tell that Preskilla was deeply loved by her in-laws.

Preskilla was very strong-willed and oozed self-confidence, but yet she would exercise those leadership qualities in a very loving and motherly manner over those who were under her spiritual care. She had such a close walk with the Lord so much so that one could sense a strong presence of the Holy Spirit at her funeral, a presence that is beyond human words to explain.

Coming back to the life of Preskilla as a cosmopolitan woman, it is perhaps worth mentioning that she was of Damara descent but married to an Omuherero husband. Both of them were born and raised on commercial farms in the Okahandja district.

The district, including the commercial farms around it and stretching all the way up to Oviitoto reserve has, historically, been a melting pot of cultures. Here Ovaherero, Damara and Ovambo people have been intermingling and intermarrying over many years. It is very common to meet someone in Ovitoto with Oshiwambo or Damara surname, but whose first language is Otjiherero.

Most of the grandparents of these people used to work either at Okahandja or on the then white commercial farms and they then settled either at Okahandja or in Ovitoto.

Preskilla’s only surviving uncle, on her mother’s side, Axaro Khaingob, also spoke at the funeral. Apart from speaking on behalf of the maternal family, he also delivered a powerful sermon, in his capacity as a minister of the gospel. He did that in style, in flawless Otjiherero, much to the surprise of many of the mourners. His daughter, Adeldheid Friedericks, was translating for him from Otjiherero to Damara-Nama. 

Just like the father, she seemed to be at home in both languages. This was a typical example of the multi-cultural pedigree, where Preskilla hailed from.

Both Preskilla and her husband Johannes are social products of this melting pot of diverse cultures.

Their children would, typically, speak to their mother in Damara-Nama and to their father in Otjiherero. At the funeral, I overheard two of their children talking to each other, one started the conversation in Damara-Nama and the other one responded in Otjiherero. As a great lover of culture and language, that was just music to my ears and a marvel to watch. I always argue that people who come from multi-cultural backgrounds are good “building blocks” for nation-building because they do not seem to have ethnic hang-ups. Preskilla will be remembered for her passion for the Lord and her generous spirit. The legendary Bob Marley was to sing: “Tribute, tribute to the martyrs…” Preskilla was, like many of us, often ridiculed and called names because of her faith in the Lord Jesus. It is in that sense that I regard her as a martyr.

A God-fearing woman who had substance and who was a cosmopolitan par excellence has died. Rest

in peace dear sister Preskilla.