Namibian war veteran Office Chisozu, who was accorded a military funeral by president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was on Saturday laid to rest at the Kamenga Shrine in the Kongola constituency of the Zambezi region.
Honoured with an honorary rank of lieutenant colonel after his retirement for his contribution to the liberation struggle, Chisozu becomes the first liberation struggle icon to be buried at Kamenga Shrine.
He died aged 90 on 20 October at Katima Mulilo District Hospital.
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His memorial service was held on Friday at the Singalamwe sport field, where messages of condolences from different parts of the country were read - including from two former heads of state, Nangolo Mbumba and Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Mourners described Chisozu as a distinguished, selfless, fearless freedom fighter who put his life on the line when betrayal for the motherland was being rewarded by the apartheid regime.
"He ensured that the guns never fell silent, that the fighters never went hungry and that the flame of resistance burned brighter with every dawn," Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa said in a message read on her behalf by former Zambezi governor Lawrence Sampofu.
Shaningwa stated that Chisozu's bravery turned refugees into revolutionaries who transformed camps into places of freedom, stressing that even during his retirement, he tirelessly continued to mobilise for Swapo in the Singalamwe area.
"He was a proud member of People's Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan) and a member of the Former Plan Combatants Association in the Zambezi region. His legacy will forever be attached in the hearts of many," stated Georgina Mwiya, the coordinator of the Former Plan Combatants Association.
Mwiya said Chisozu's combat name in exile, 'Scania', a heavy-duty truck, matched his personality.
Namibian Defence Force chief air marshal Martin Pinehas, who was the chief mourner, was represented by Kavango East governor Julius Hambyuka.
Chisozu, who was born on 19 April 1935 at Libubu village in the Singalamwe area, left the country in 1968 to join the liberation struggle through Imusho, now Kamenga border, and attended his first military training in Russia, specialising in infantry.
He retired from the army in 1994.
He is survived by his wife, five children, 11 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
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