Ruben Michael Ningilanayi "Danger" Ashipala (26 August 1947 in Omaandi, Ovamboland (today the Omusati Region of Namibia– 9 May 2010) was a Namibian police officer, military commander and military officer. Ashipala was also a guerrilla fighter and high-profile commander of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia.

Namibian war of independence

Ashipala was a military commander in the 1970s and 1980s with the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, the armed wing of SWAPO during the Namibian War of Independence.[1] He earned notoriety for capturing South African soldier, Johan van der Mescht, in an operation in Namibia in 1978.[2] It was widely believed in South Africa that Van der Mescht had deserted; after four years in prison in Luanda, he was eventually exchanged at Checkpoint Charlie in 1982 for Russian spy Aleksei Koslov.

Later life

Following independence in 1989, Ashipala became a commander in the non-racial Namibian Defence Force before eventually becoming an advisor to the inspector general of the Police Sebastian Ndeitunga. He retired in 2007. Ashipala died in his sleep on 9 May 2010 in his home in Windhoek's Academia suburb at the age of 62.[3] He was buried in his native Omusati Region next to his mother. A number of prominent national politicians attended his funeral, including President Sam Nujoma, Prime Minister Nahas Angula as well as cabinet ministers Nangolo Mbumba and Abraham Iyambo.[4][5] In Swakopmund, a street was named after him.

The Full Circle Productions-produced film Captor and Captive, described by the local Villager newspaper as "a story of forgiveness and redemption",[6] documents Ashipala's reunion with van der Mescht after the latter's return to Namibia in 2009. It was broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in 2011.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Tileni Mongudhi: Danger Ashipala dies Archived 2010-05-14 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 11 May 2010
  2. ↑ "Captor & captive : the story of Danger Ashipala and Johan Van Der Mescht - Catalog - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  3. ↑ Mongudhi, Tileni (11 May 2010). "Danger Ashipala dies". New Era.
  4. ↑ "Danger accorded full honorary police funeral". New Era. 17 May 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Shivute, Oswald (18 May 2010). "Danger Ashipala Buried". The Namibian. p. 1.
  6. ↑ Mukaiwa, Martha. "Unique Story of Forgiveness". The Villager. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  7. ↑ "Captor and Captive". Namibia Digital Repository. 7 May 2010.
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