WINDHOEK: Hundreds of mourners converged on the Pionierspark Cemetery here on Saturday to pay their last respects to Swanu of Namibia stalwart Gerson Karupumbura Veii.

Swanu President Usutuaije Maamberua and DTA of Namibia President Katuutire Kaura were amongst the hundreds of relatives and members of the public who attended the funeral service in the capital.

Karupumbura Veii died of natural causes at his home at around 05h00 on Sunday morning (05 August).

He was born at Otjimanangombe in Epukiro on 16 September 1949 to Justus Veii and Annethe Tjikuzu Veii.

He grew up in Omaruru with his aunt Adelheid Veii Mbuaondjou and that is where he attended most of his primary schooling before returning to Epukiro as a 15-year-old lad.

As a younger brother of liberation icon Gerson Hitjevi Veii, Karupumbura was exposed to politics at home throughout his youth.

The experience of his brother’s incarceration and torture as a political prisoner at Robben Island in 1966 moulded his political philosophy and spurred him on to active politics where he played a vital role from the onset in mobilising and organising party cadres for the armed struggle.

As a core member of Swanu’s revolutionary programme, Karupumbura was very much instrumental in organising young people to leave Namibia to join the liberation struggle abroad.

He himself left Namibia for Botswana, Cyprus, Albania and Germany from 1979, specifically to look for weapons in order to pursue the armed liberation struggle.

He later had to change the year of his birth from 1949 to 1953 just so that he could access scholarships and bursaries for studies abroad.

After Independence, the late Swanu mobiliser spent most of his time again pursuing the struggle for the socio-economic advancement of all Namibians. He is survived by his wife Angela Veii, four sons, two daughters and several grandchildren.