Joshua Razikua Kaumbi
At the time of paying tribute to Immanuel Ngatjizeko my article was dedicated to Philip Keripuu Tjerije – a live tribute. Well, now Philip Keripuu Tjerije has died. I would always call him Comrade Senior as I would pose the same question as to whether Swapo in Omaruru would die with them.
Philip Tjerije a second of seven children was born 13 June 1947 in Otjihinaparero and grew up in Omaruru, in that street that came all the way from town, a street of one big family. Our street connected separate worlds without irony. He died on 03 July 2025 in Windhoek. His mother’s house was in front of my old lady’s house. According to late Immanuel Ngatjizeko, Philip Tjerije, a bright student at Martin Luther High School, served as the chairperson of the Windhoek branch in 1977 and deputy secretary for information and publicity of the internal wing of Swapo since 1979. Tjerije would issue most, if not all, of the Swapo statements in the then South-West Africa (Namibia) before independence. In 1979 the late Theo-Ben Gurirab relied on one such statement at the United Nations to refute claims that the 1978 election was legitimate. (Unam archives)
After Omuguluuombashe most of the Swapo leadership inside the country either found themselves on Robben Island or in jail in Pretoria, if not in hiding. In 1975 and 1978, when Elifas and Kapuuo were assassinated, repression increased, and Swapo experienced a vacuum as by that time David Meroro already left for exile. It is at this time when Ngatjizeko, Tjongarero, Tjerije and Kameeta took it upon themselves to stir the pot. Due to the excessive intimidation of Swapo leaders, members and sympathisers, by the illegitimate regime, the strategy shifted to using churches as a vehicle for mobilization and civic engagement. During this time, and more so after the death of Kapuuo, it was not easy to be omuHerero and Swapo in any Herero location. It is thus befitting to claim that the Tjerijes were the stalwarts who kept Swapo’s name alive in Namibia – Maxuilili’s children as the saying goes, when doing so was inviting harassment and death. The Namibians who answered the clarion call in the 80s had it easy. During this period Swapo had already crossed the river and had become internationally renowned, having garnered international solidarity in favour of the struggle and adopted a modern constitution. According to Phanuel Kaapama, the late Tjerije can regarded as part of the last from that era, leaving behind only a handful like Naruseb, Omeb and others.
The late Tjerije narrated to the author that the biggest interest in SWAPO from Omaruru was triggered by the first Swapo rally that was addressed by the late Nathanael Maxuilili in 1963 at the then ‘freedom square area’ in the township of Ozondje (Scorpion).
Those born in Omaruru (Tjiriange is from otjimaruru too) can be confidently stated to have been the bastion of Swapo, before Independence amongst the Ovaherero. During the early stages of the struggle for independence, most probably due to the harbour town of Walvisbay, Arandis and the Martin Luther School at Karibib, the first Otjiherero speaking Namibians to have joined Swapo party en masse , with their hearts instead of scarfs, all came from Omaruru town and the nearby Otjohorongo Reserve. They were Swapo, without having gone anywhere to return. (Swapo at 60: Is the influence of western Herero’s waning. New Era, 29 May 2020)
As we witness the exit of the golden generation, we should sing praises to their bravery and resoluteness, whilst at the same time pay attention to what they wanted to establish as the collective. Thabo Mbeki is eager to remind us that we can only build a nation if we behave in a manner which promote reconciliation and nation building. He suggests that the longer we delay the process of genuine nation building, the more entrenched would be the conviction that the concept of nation building (or freedom in itself) was a mere mirage as advanced by some. The nation can only live when ‘ethnic diversity, racial diversity and class diversity [is] offered a clear value proposition that makes them feel that they benefit from being part of a nation state’. (For Africa to Live, the Nation Must Die: The fluidity of African Identity in a Changing Continent) Any failure to do this will lead to what my senior friend recently stated to me that we might give rise to many Lukato’s appealing to their ethnic base for national relevance.
It is unfortunate, though understandable, that Keripuu died at a time when a moratorium on befitting state farewells came into place. He would have been a worthy recipient. It is my fervent hope that he would be awarded an honour post-humously after the moratorium.
Comrade Senior, you were part of a special generation whose aim was to seek and define our own national identity. Your generation taught us that nation-building should be an effort not to be abandoned, as it crosses too many villages to be left to the impatient and the intolerant.
Walk on Comrade Senior and blend peacefully and eternally.
