Richard Kapelwa Kabajani (1943-17 May 2007) was a 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 activist, rebel militant, diplomat and politician. Kabajani was a military commander for SWAPO during the Namibian War of Independence

Namibian War of Independence

See also South African Border War.The Namibian War of Independence, also known as the South African Border War, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war, which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization and others, fought against the apartheid government in South...

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Early life

Kabajani was born in the Caprivi Region

Caprivi Region

Caprivi is one of the 13 regions of Namibia. It takes its name from the Caprivi Strip which in turn was named after Leo von Caprivi.-Geography:...

 in the village of Ivilivinzi, 117 km from Katima Mulilo

Katima Mulilo

Katima Mulilo is the capital of the Caprivi Strip, Namibia's far north–east extension into central Southern Africa. It comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban...

. He attended school in Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 from 1955 to 1964. While in Botswana, he attended Ngoma Primary School and Mulumba Mission School and in the later years developed an interest in politics. He was classmates of fellow future 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...

 combatant Greenwell Matongo and future traditional ruler of the Mafwe people Mamili Boniface Bebi.

Career

In 1964, Kabajani joined SWAPO and was sent to Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...

 (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....

) and Mbeya

Mbeya

Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 for military training. During the War of Independence, the Caprivi native was one of the first fighters to engage the South African Defence Forces in the northeastern Caprivi Region. In 1986, he became special assistant to SWAPO leader and future 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...

. During the run-up to Namibia's independence, Kabajani was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Namibia

Members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia

Below is a list of members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which became the National Assembly of Namibia upon independence in March 1990. Individual members were selected by political parties voted for in the 1989 election, the first multi-racial, universal franchise elections in Namibian...

, which wrote the Namibian Constitution

Constitution of Namibia

The Constitution of Namibia is the constitution of theRepublic of Namibia. Adopted in February 1990, a month prior to Namibia's independence from apartheid South Africa, it was written by an elected constituent assembly.-Preamble:...

. He also was chosen by SWAPO to be in the 1st

Members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia

Below is a list of members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which became the National Assembly of Namibia upon independence in March 1990. Individual members were selected by political parties voted for in the 1989 election, the first multi-racial, universal franchise elections in Namibian...

 (1990-1995) and 2nd National Assemblies of Namibia

Members of the 2nd National Assembly of Namibia

Below is a list of the 2nd National Assembly of the Republic of Namibia. The members were in the National Assembly from the 1994 election to 1999 election. Members are chosen by their parties...

. From 2000-2004, he was Namibia's ambassador to Cuba. Kabajani retired in 2004 and died on 17 May 2007 at Caprivi State Hospital. He was buried at Heroes Acre national memorial outside of Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

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