Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi, on behalf of other Members of Parliament, has paid tribute to Mburumba Kerina.

Kerina, who was born on 06 June 1932 at Tsumeb, died on Monday in Windhoek after short illness.

He served as a member of the Constituent Assembly from 1989 to 1990; as a member of the National Assembly from 1990 to 1991 and as member of the National Council representing the Omaheke Region from 1998 until 2003.

Katjavivi described Kerina as an icon of the Namibian liberation struggle, well-known across political formations and highly respected for his stance against South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia, after he joined forces with Reverend Michael Scott to bring the Namibian case to the international political arena and was the first Namibian petitioner to appear at the United Nations.

“A nationalist above all else, Professor Kerina was not consumed by political party affiliation. As chairperson of Swapo, he played a major role along with our founding President Sam Nujoma and others of that generation, providing guidance in the transformation of the party into a national movement. He is also credited for giving Namibia its name, which we all take pride in,” said Katjavivi.

He added that Kerina is regarded as a thinker, a freedom fighter and a democrat, whose thoughts and deeds always focused on building a freer, fairer and more democratic Namibian nation not determined by ethnicity or political affiliation and completed his dignified life journey with dedication to the Namibian nation.

“We hereby extend our deeply felt sympathy and condolences to the members of the Kerina family, and especially his children and grandchildren, both here and in the USA. We wish them strength as they go through this difficult time. May the soul of Prof Mburumba Kerina rest in eternal peace,” stated Katjavivi.

Source: Namibia Press Agency