Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Martin Shalli is a former Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n diplomat and military commander. In 2005, he was appointed to the post of High Commissioner

High Commissioner

High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...

 of Namibia to Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 by then President Sam Nujoma

Sam Nujoma

Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma is a Namibian politician who was the first President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He led the South-West Africa People's Organisation in its long struggle against South African rule and took office as President when Namibia obtained independence on 21 March 1990...

 but was recalled in October 2006 by his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is the second and current President of Namibia. He won the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections overwhelmingly as the candidate of the South West Africa People's Organisation ruling party, taking office in March 2005. He has also been the President of SWAPO since...

 and appointed Chief of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF). He replaced controversial former NDF commander Solomon Huwala

Solomon Huwala

Dumeni Solomon Huwala is a former Namibian lieutenant general. Huwala was a commander with the People's Liberation Army of Namibia and earned the nickname "Butcher of Lubango" for allegedly running detainee camps of SWAPO opponents in the southern Angolan city of Lubango during the Namibian War of...

. He was replaced as High Commissioner to Zambia by regional councillor Solomon Witbooi

Solomon Witbooi

Solomon Witbooi is a Namibian politician and diplomat. A native of Gibeon in the central Hardap Region, Witbooi was elected to represent his hometown in the Hardap Regional Council. In April 2007, he was appointed to replace NDF Commander Martin Shalli as the Namibian High Commissioner to...

. In July 2009, Shalli was suspended by President Pohamba due to "serious allegations of irregularities". Without the alleged irregularities being proven, refuted, or even officially substantiated, Shalli retired with full military privileges in January 2011.

Career

Shalli joined SWAPO's military wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia

People's Liberation Army of Namibia

The People's Liberation Army of Namibia was the active military wing of the South West Africa People's Organization during the Namibian War of Independence. It sought independence for the territory from South African rule. PLAN launched its first attack on the South African military at...

 (PLAN) in 1971 in exile and eventually was trained as an anti-aircraft artillery battalion commander in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 before eventually becoming a PLAN platoon commander. When PLAN merged into the military structure to help create independent Namibia's military, the Namibia Defence Force, Shalli was given the position of Policy and Operations Director with the rank of Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

. In 2009, Shalli was suspended from the NDF due to allegations of fraud. He allegedly had large amounts of money given to him by a company working in Namibia from the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 from which the NDF bought equipment. He was replaced by Major General Peter Nambundunga

Peter Nambundunga

Major General Peter Nambundunga is a Namibian military commander. Nambundunga was appointed the Commander of the Army in 2005, replacing Martin Shalli when he was promoted to Chief of the NDF.-Career:...

. Prior to his suspension, Shalli earned three medals for his service, the Order of Eagle 2nd Class, the Omugulugwombashe

Omugulugwombashe

Omugulugwombashe is a settlement in the Tsandi electoral constituency in the Omusati Region of northern Namibia. The settlement features a clinic and a primary school. In Omugulugwombashe the Namibian struggle for independence started in 1966...

Medal, and the Namibia Cross for Bravery in Silver.