Dimo Hamaambo

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Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam "Dimo" Hamaambo , also Amaambo (born October 27, 1932 in Eengava, South West Africa ; † September 8, 2002 in Windhoek ) was a Namibian military member , commander of PLAN and in his last post as commander in chief of the Namibian Defense Force ( Chief of Defense Force ) in the rank of Lieutenant General until his retirement .

Youth and education

Dimo Hamaambo was born into a large family. He had 12 siblings. His parents were Josephina Melila Shipo and Jona Hamaambo. Dimo Hamaambo spent the first years of his school days in Ohaingu and Engela. As a teenager he earned his first money with farm contract work; then with the South African Railways , between 1950 and 1952 as an employee at Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM). Other stops in his early working life were a canning factory in Walvis Bay and gold mining in Johannesburg . He then continued his education at schools in Onekwaya ( St. Mary's Mission School , Anglican ) and Odibo ( Odibo St. Mary's Mission , Anglican).

In Walvis Bay he joined the Ovamboland People's Organization in 1959 . In 1960/1961 Dimo ​​Hamaambo left South West Africa and turned to Angola , where he traveled from the port city of Lobito to Great Britain by sea . However, the British authorities denied him entry and he was forcibly returned. He then emigrated to Tanganyika via Bechuanaland , where he arrived in 1962.

Dimo Hamaambo received his first military training in Algeria . He completed further military science studies in the Soviet Union . In 1966 he was promoted to Second Deputy Army Commander (2nd Deputy Commander) of the South West Africa Liberation Army (SWALA, later PLAN); 1967 as First Deputy Army Commander (1st deputy). A year later he took over the leadership of this military organization after his predecessor Tobias Hainyeko was killed by South African military units in a battle on the Cuando in the Caprivi Strip in 1967. Hamaambo was in charge of the PLAN high command until 1989. His deputy was Solomon Hawala , who, as SWAPO's security chief, was later confronted with accusations of torture due to his relentless treatment of politically deviant people. Hamaambo was also an executive at SWAPO; represented here since 1983 as a member of the Politburo and the Central Committee in an influential position.

Hamaambo initiated the establishment of an administrative center for the PLAN in Cassinga around 1977 after the SWAPO military base of operations had been relocated from Zambia to Angola ( SWAPO Defense Headquarters since 1976/1977 near Lubango ). Uninhabited buildings were used here near a former iron mine on the road between Huambo and Techamutete (where Cuban troops had been stationed since around 1975). At times there was also an interim camp for refugees from the civil war and for fighters from the operational area on the Angolan-Southwest African border.

As part of the transformation process, Hamaambo returned to Namibia in 1989 before his country gained independence. He was named the first Chief of Defense Forces in 1990. In 2000 he retired.

His successor, Solomon Hawala, assumed the highest military office in Namibia in 2000. Hamaambo was admitted to Windhoek Central Hospital after a health breakdown and transferred to Roman Catholic Hospital that same day , where he died. A state funeral was held in his honor and he was buried on September 14, 2002 as the first person to die on the National Heroes' Acre near Windhoek .

Honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim Pütz, Heidi Von Egidy, Perri Caplan: Namibia Handbook and Political Who's Who . Windhoek 1989, p. 271
  2. ↑ a b c d e Klaus Dierks : Biographies of Namibian personalities: Hamaambo, Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam Dimo . on www.klausdierks.com (German)
  3. ↑ a b Joe Pütz, Heidi von Egidy, Perri Caplan: Political Who's Who of Namibia . Magus, Windhoek 1989, Namibia series Vol. 1, ISBN 0-620-10225-X , p. 131
  4. ↑ Victor L. Tonchi, William A. Lindeke, John J. Grotpeter: Historical Dictionary of Namibia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2012, p. 339
  5. ↑ Christian A. Williams: 'Remember Cassinga?'. An Exhibition of Photographs and Histories . University of the Western Cape, Center for Humanities Research, online at www.scielo.org.za (English, PDF document)
  6. ↑ Joe Pütz, Heidi von Egidy, Perri Caplan: Namibia Handbook and Political Who's Who . Magus, Windhoek 1989, Namibia series Vol: 2, ISBN 0-620-14172-7 , p. 255
  7. ↑ news24.com: Swapo military ex-chief dies . News from September 9, 2002 on www.news24.com (English)
  8. ↑ allAfrica.com: Namibia: Naval Ship, Lt. Gen Dimo ​​Hamaambo Decommissioned . News from August 15, 2012 on www.allafrica.com (English)
  9. ^ Defense Forces / Aeronaval Comunicação: Navios de Guerra Brasileiros. Cv NS LT. Gen. Dimo Hamaambo. C 11th Classe Imperial Marinheiro . on www.naval.com.br (Portuguese)
personal data
SURNAME Hamaambo, Dimo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hamaambo, Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Namibian military
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Eengava , South West Africa
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 2002
Place of death Windhoek , Namibia