Kazenambo Kazenambo

Kazenambo Kazenambo (born 6 July 1963) is a Namibian politician. A member of SWAPO, Kazenambo was first elected to the 4th National Assembly of Namibia in 2005. He then served as Deputy Minister of Local and Regional Government, Housing and Rural Development until 2010, and as Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture until 2012. He is a member of SWAPO's Politburo.[1] [2]

Kazenambo Kazenambo
Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture
In office 2010 – 4 December 2012
Prime Minister	Nahas Angula
Preceded by	Pohamba Shifeta
Succeeded by	Jerry Ekandjo
Deputy Minister of Local and Regional Government, Housing and Rural Development
In office 2005–2010
Prime Minister	Nahas Angula
Succeeded by	Jerry Ekandjo
Personal details
Born	(1963-07-06) 6 July 1963 Maun, Botswana

Early life

Kazenambo was born in Maun, Botswana, the son of Namibian refugees. He joined SWAPO in 1979, at the age of 16. Five years later in 1984, he travelled to Angola, where he received military training. In 1986, he joined SWAPO's military wing as a combatant, People's Liberation Army of Namibia. He fought with SWAPO until 1989, when negotiations ended the Namibian War of Independence. Prior to independence, he also worked as a journalist for the Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) and the Voice of Namibia radio program. A year later, Namibia became independent and moved to Namibia, the land of his family, where he became a journalist for Namibia Today, the official mouthpiece of the SWAPO Party.

Political career

He joined government in 1992 and became an advisor to Prime Minister Hage Geingob in 1996. A longtime member of the SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL), Kazenambo was a member of its Central Committee from 1991 to 2002.[3]

Following the 2004 general election, President Pohamba appointed Kazenambo as the Deputy Minister of Regional, Local Government and Housing and Rural Development behind John Pandeni. Prior to the 2009 elections, Kazenambo was placed 9th overall out of 72 spots on the SWAPO list for the National Assembly.[4] Kazenambo was appointed Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture in 2010 and served in this position until a Cabinet reshuffle on 4 December 2012.[5] In 2014 he was appointed to SWAPO's Politburo.[6]

Controversies

Kazenambo is known as a man of his words, never shy to offer his opinion. In January 2011, Windhoek police were called to separate Kazenambo and the manager of Hochland Park's Spar Supermarket when the Minister confronted the manager regarding his alleged mistreatment of black customers. Police removed Kazenambo from the store after a heated exchange which included allegations of racism. The cabinet minister had a similar incident at the airport in Munich, Germany.[7]

In November 2011, Kazenambo publicly accused journalist Jan Poolman of the Namibian Sun of "buffoonery of the highest order of a perverted mind" and of being a thief and added that "whites should not take reconciliation for granted [...] [w]e will grab farms if they push this matter. We will push the Constitution aside if they scratch too far. Mark my words, give us time ... if they continue, we'll also take some action to claim what is ours".[8][9] The Namibian government was criticised for treating Kazenambo with kid gloves and not reprimanding him after the outburst.[10][11]

Kazenambo was responding to an article written by Poolman[12] that Kazenambo spent N$1.7 million instead of the budgeted N$1 million to send 65 delegates to collect the skulls of some of the victims of the Herero and Namaqua Genocide of 1904–1907 from Germany.

During an interview in February 2012 with journalist Tileni Mongudhi, Kazenambo allegedly made a racist attack against his fellow ministers, calling them "stupid Owambos", and said that Ovambo people "are just like the Boers, worse because you are hungry and stupid". The interview apparently started on a cordial note until Mongudhi asked if Kazenambo was proudly acting "more of a Herero than a national representative" in relation to the delegation he led to Germany to retrieve Herero remains.[11] Kazenambo then accused Mongudhi of being part of an "Owambo conspiracy" and seized his voice recorder. The recorder was then sent to another country to get its contents professionally erased before being returned to Mongudhi's lawyer.[13]

References

1. https://neweralive.com.na/posts/i-was-never-recalled-kazenambo | I was never recalled – Kazenambo - New Era Live
2. https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/national/item/11203-kk-blasts-dissident-itula | KK blasts dissident Itula - Windhoek Observer
3. Graham Hopwood: Kazenambo Kazenambo Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine at Namibia Institute for Democracy, 2007
4. The Swapo Party's electoral list Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 4 September 2009.
5. Shipanga, Selma; Immanuel, Shinovene (5 December 2012). "Transition team picked". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
6. Immanuel, Shinovene (19 February 2014). "Kazenambo joins Swapo's politburo". The Namibian.
7. KK in near brawl New Era, 18 January 2011
8. "Genocide Skull Controversy in Namibia". 17 November 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
9. Kazenambo fumes at Namibian Sun. Namibia: The Namibian Sun (via Youtube). 16 November 2011.
10. "Kazenambo got off easily". Namibian Sun. 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
11. Sasmann, Catherine (23 February 2012). "Namibia's tribal powder keg". OSSISA. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
12. Poolman, Jan (11 November 2011). "Skulls repatriation mission costly". Namibian Sun. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
13. "Namibia: Kazenambo Gets Outburst Evidence Erased". The Namibian (hosted by allAfrica.com). 10 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.