26 Facts About Mburumba Kerina

Mburumba Kerina was a co-founder of SWAPO, NUDO, and FCN, and the founder of a host of smaller political parties.

Mburumba Kerina had Ovambo and Ovaherero ancestry, and was a great-grandson of explorer and trader Frederick Thomas Green, from which he derived his surname.

Mburumba Kerina was born William Eric Getzen on 6 June 1932 in Tsumeb.

Mburumba Kerina grew up in Walvis Bay and went to school in Windhoek Old Location where he attended St Barnabas Anglican Church School.

Mburumba Kerina went to the United States in 1953 and studied at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

Mburumba Kerina graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1957.

Mburumba Kerina then became a graduate fellow at New School for Social Research, New York, and between 1960 and 1962 did a PhD at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia.

Mburumba Kerina subsequently wrote an opinion piece in an Indonesian publication about a yet-to-be created country Namib and its nationalist movement, Namibianism.

The claim for Mburumba Kerina to have coined the name "Namib" is widely recognised, while Sam Nujoma, Namibia's founding president, is more commonly credited with the name "Namibia".

From 1956 onwards, Mburumba Kerina was among the first petitioners to the United Nations for Namibian independence on behalf of the Herero Chiefs' Council.

Mburumba Kerina became one of SWAPO's co-founders, and is the person to have suggested the name.

Mburumba Kerina was expelled in 1962 for publicly discussing the formation of a new party.

In 1964 Mburumba Kerina returned from the US for an unsuccessful attempt to enter Namibia.

Mburumba Kerina stayed in Bechuanaland for a while but soon was expelled from there and moved to Tanzania.

In 1966 Mburumba Kerina broke with the Herero Chiefs' Council again.

Mburumba Kerina criticised the UN General Assembly's 1972 decision to recognise SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people:.

Mburumba Kerina founded the Namibia Patriotic Coalition in 1978 which entered into an alliance with the Rehoboth Liberation Front and the Liberal Party.

In 1988 Mburumba Kerina co-founded the Federal Convention of Namibia with Hans Diergaardt, who became its president.

When he resigned on health grounds, Mburumba Kerina took over the seat from him and was elected Deputy Speaker of the house.

Mburumba Kerina returned to active politics in 1998 as Regional Councillor for the Aminuis Constituency on a Democratic Turnhalle Alliance ticket.

Mburumba Kerina was elected to serve in the National Council.

Mburumba Kerina was expelled in 2005, allegedly for misappropriation of funds, an accusation he denied.

Between 1953 and Namibian independence in 1990, Mburumba Kerina stayed in the United States but frequently visited Namibia for sustained periods.

Mburumba Kerina held a lecturer position at New York City School of Visual Arts and an assistant and later associate professor position at the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Mburumba Kerina died only one month later on 5 June 2017, at the age of 54.

Mburumba Kerina died due to COVID-19 in Windhoek on 14 June 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia.