Namibia: Chief Munjuku II Nguvauva Military Base Unveiled At Gobabis

What the report says

Hundreds of people from across Namibia gathered in Gobabis, in the Omaheke region, on Saturday for the official unveiling of the Chief Munjuku II Nguvauva Military Base, according to The Namibian as carried by AllAfrica. The government also renamed the 126 Battalion in honour of the late Ovambanderu chief, recognizing his role during the colonial era.

The report said the event drew praise from the current Ovambanderu chief, Tjozohongo II Nguvauva, who thanked the government for acknowledging his father and described the gesture as meaningful for the family and the wider community. He said Munjuku II helped the liberation struggle, including by receiving founding president Sam Nujoma in Botswana while he was in exile.

Community historian Asaria Tjozongoro-Kandjou used the occasion to recall the hardships faced by the Ovambanderu under colonial rule and said the naming was a symbolic recognition of leaders who resisted colonization. He also pointed to Munjuku II’s links with anti-colonial figures and his attendance at the 1984 Lusaka Conference as part of the historical context cited at the event.

The article places the tribute within Namibia’s broader effort to publicly honour figures associated with the independence struggle and the Ovambanderu community’s history. Munjuku II, who was born in Botswana, led the Ovambanderu there from 1951 and later in Namibia until his death in 2008.