Thousands of Herero-speaking Namibians from Namibia, South Africa and Botswana will descend on Okakarara this weekend for the burial of Chief David Tuvahi Kambazembi (photo), who died 2 weeks ago while on a trip to Ellisras in South Africa. Kambazembi was 73 years old. He was born In Botswana where to where his family had fled during the 1904 Herero War against the German colonial powers. The grandfather of the late chief, was a loyal follower of Chief Samuel Maharero and he went with him from Botswana to South Africa near Ellisras after 1904, where he found work. The Kambazembi family settled around Tsau in western Botswana and the father visited them as often as his job in South Africa allowed. He died there and was buried near Ellisras. Earlier this month, Chief Kambazembi travelled to South Africa to have the remains of his grandfather repatriated to Namibia. It was on this trip that the Chief suddenly died. He himself only came to Namibia about 1992 when some 2,000 Hereros emigrated from Botswana to Namibia and settled in the Eiseb block. The Kambazembi clan has lived at the Waterberg a hundred years ago. The coffin of the Chief was flown to Windhoek last Sunday and on Tuesday it was brought to Eiseb to the holy fire of the Kambazembi household. On Thursday it was brought to Okakarara, where the traditional burial rites will commence. The main ceremony will be on Saturday morning and in the afternoon the coffin will be brought to its final resting place on a farm at the foot of the Waterberg, where family graves of generations of the Kambazembi family are situated since over a 100 years.

Photo: Brigitte Weidlich