Namibian Heroes Commemorated on 26 August

Heroes' Day is recognised by the United Nations as 'Namibia Day'. The date commemorates what has been formally recognised as the beginning of the armed struggle against the former colonial power, South Africa, on 26 August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe – also known as Ongulumbashe.

'Omugulu gwOombashe' is the Otjiherero expression for a giraffe's leg. Today, a memorial comprising a small museum, a statue of Namibia's Founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma, as well as a replica of freedom fighters at a planning meeting and, last but not least, several heroes’ graves, marks the site.

The Ongulumbashe Monument is located about 25 km west of Tsandi, along the D3633, which you turn into as you enter Tsandi after travelling on the C41 from Oshakati past Okahao towards Tsandi (Omusati Region).

The settlement itself features a clinic and a primary school.

PLAN commander John ya Otto Nankudhu was one of the commanders sent to infiltrate South West Africa in 1966, with the aim of setting up military training camps in the north of the country, one of which was at Omugulugwombashe. On 26 August 1966, South African security forces attacked the camp, marking what is widely recognised as the start of the armed conflict that ultimately led to Namibia’s independence on 21 March 1990.

Namibia’s struggle-related memorials

Namibia currently has the following commemoration sites in remembrance of the struggle for freedom:

1. The Omugulugwombashe Memorial was completed in 1996 in time to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Ongulumbashe on 26 August 1966.

2. Heroes' Acre is an official war memorial located on the southern outskirts of Windhoek. It was opened on 26 August 2002, having been erected “to foster a spirit of patriotism and nationalism” to the benefit of future generations. Nine Namibian heroes and heroines are remembered there by way of honorary tombstones.

a. Kahimemua Nguvauva (1850 - 1896), Chief of the Ovambanderu

b. Nehale Lya Mpingana (died 1908), King of Ondonga

c. Samuel Maharero (1856 -1923), Herero Paramount Chief

d. Hendrik Witbooi (1830 -1905), Chief of the ǀKhowesin

e. Jakob Morenga (1875 - 1907), guerrilla war leader

f. Mandume Ya Ndemufayo (1894 -1917), King of the Kwanyama

g. Iipumbu Ya Tshilongo (1875 -1959), King of the Uukwambi

h. Anna Mungunda (1910s - 1959), anti-eviction protester from Windhoek's Old Location

i. Hosea Kutako (1870 -1970), Paramount Chief of the Herero

President Hage Geingob, who passed away on 4 February 2024, is the first president to be enshrined at Heroes’ Acre.

3. The Eenhana Shrine is believed to be the site of at least five mass graves of PLAN freedom fighters who were killed by South African forces during the war for independence. The memorial is dedicated to the "women and men who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country, who died while liberating Namibia from colonialism." It was inaugurated on 26 August 2007.

Designer and architect Marley Tjitjo previously explained: “The statue itself, of a woman holding a flag as opposed to a man holding a gun, emphasises the lives of women who fought and provided food to fighters during this war.”

In the capital, after many years of disuse, the architect Jaco Wasserfall, with the assistance of the American Embassy and other organisations, is in the process of repurposing the Alte Feste into a cultural and historical heritage site, transforming it into a Genocide Remembrance Memorial, which will include new extensions for a dedicated Genocide Museum as part of an integrated, modern design.

In this regard, 28 May will be designated a public holiday in the future to commemorate the genocide of the Herero and Nama between 1904 and 1908.