Mishake Muyongo’s rise and fall
Fallen hero
Former prime minister Nahas Angula says Mishake Muyongo's contribution during the fight for liberation can never be erased but has been overshadowed by his subsequent fall from grace.
For former prime minister Nahas Angula, the life of Mishake Muyongo is best understood as a tragedy – the story of a man who built his reputation only to destroy it.
Muyongo rose to prominence as a liberation fighter and Swapo’s vice president but later became the symbol of the Zambezi secessionist movement.
His legacy, Angula argues, is one remembered with respect but always “with a pinch of salt”.
“The story of Muyongo is a tragic story, so to say,” Angula said in a recent interview on Evening Review. “You build a reputation, and then you destroy it. Once you destroy it, it’s gone. Nobody will respect you. Nobody will continue to honour your contribution. We might still recognise it, but with a pinch of salt, because history will put you on a different plane. It is unfortunate.”
Stepping in as a leader
Angula recalled their days together in Lusaka during Swapo’s 1975 internal conflict. With most of the leadership absent, Muyongo stepped in to steady the movement.
He persuaded the Zambian government to intervene and disarm armed factions in urban areas, preventing collapse.
“He played a big role in saving the movement,” Angula said.
At the time, Muyongo was a school principal, but he roped in young cadres like Angula to support him.
Later, the Ya Otto Commission, which included Theo-Ben Gurirab, was set up to investigate those turbulent events.
Muyongo’s resulting reputation, once held in high regard, however, did not endure.
Expelled from Swapo in 1980, Muyongo joined the then Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) and eventually became its president.
At the Constituent Assembly, he spoke passionately about unity, declaring Namibia should be a democratic, unitary state.
“A person making that kind of statement, you would never expect him to later promote secession. But eventually, his complex character got the better of him, and he decided he wanted a secession,” Angula reflected.
Call for Muyongo's return
The change shocked many.
The secessionist campaign plunged the Caprivi Strip (as it was known then), historically tied to the Lozi people who share cultural bonds with communities in Zambia, Angola, Botswana and South Africa, into turmoil.
Muyongo, once detained in Zambia and Tanzania before his expulsion from Swapo, ended his political career in exile in Europe after being expelled again in 1998.
“I am sorry that he is now living in Europe in old age. It is not nice to have a citizen at that stage of life living in a foreign country, but he made the wrong decisions,” Angula said.
Still, he was clear that Muyongo’s contribution cannot be erased, even though his former reputation has been overshadowed by his fall.
“We have to recognise his contribution. But as I said, it is a tragic story.”
Simmering tensions
Muyongo’s name surfaced again this year.
In June 2025, the banned United Democratic Party (UDP) staged a protest in Katima Mulilo, demanding Zambezi’s independence, the withdrawal of the army, and the return of Muyongo from exile in Denmark.
The petition, signed by chairperson Vasco Kabata and read by secretary Ronnicah Sipiho, accused the government of repression and human rights abuses.
Former Zambezi governor Lawrence Sampofu did not attend to receive the petition.
Instead, the government branded the demonstration a direct attempt to revive secessionist rhetoric, recalling the failed 1999 Caprivi armed rebellion.
It warned that “all options are on the table” to defend Namibia’s territorial integrity.
Internal conflict
That rebellion left a searing scar on Namibia’s young democracy.
On 2 August 1999, armed men of the Caprivi Liberation Movement launched attacks on government installations in Katima Mulilo, seeking to carve out independence.
The Namibia Defence Force and police swiftly crushed the uprising, killing at least 14 people and arresting more than 140.
A state of emergency was declared, marking Namibia’s first major internal conflict since independence.
Two decades later, analysts argue that the Namibian state has failed to engage meaningfully in peacebuilding in the region.
Instead, military deployments have dominated, leaving secessionist sentiment to simmer beneath the surface.
Security actors themselves have acknowledged that, under the right conditions, unrest could erupt again unless government finds ways to address and reconcile grievances.
It is against this backdrop that Angula’s reflection resonates.
Muyongo rose to prominence as a liberation fighter and Swapo’s vice president but later became the symbol of the Zambezi secessionist movement.
His legacy, Angula argues, is one remembered with respect but always “with a pinch of salt”.
“The story of Muyongo is a tragic story, so to say,” Angula said in a recent interview on Evening Review. “You build a reputation, and then you destroy it. Once you destroy it, it’s gone. Nobody will respect you. Nobody will continue to honour your contribution. We might still recognise it, but with a pinch of salt, because history will put you on a different plane. It is unfortunate.”
Stepping in as a leader
Angula recalled their days together in Lusaka during Swapo’s 1975 internal conflict. With most of the leadership absent, Muyongo stepped in to steady the movement.
He persuaded the Zambian government to intervene and disarm armed factions in urban areas, preventing collapse.
“He played a big role in saving the movement,” Angula said.
At the time, Muyongo was a school principal, but he roped in young cadres like Angula to support him.
Later, the Ya Otto Commission, which included Theo-Ben Gurirab, was set up to investigate those turbulent events.
Muyongo’s resulting reputation, once held in high regard, however, did not endure.
Expelled from Swapo in 1980, Muyongo joined the then Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) and eventually became its president.
At the Constituent Assembly, he spoke passionately about unity, declaring Namibia should be a democratic, unitary state.
“A person making that kind of statement, you would never expect him to later promote secession. But eventually, his complex character got the better of him, and he decided he wanted a secession,” Angula reflected.
Call for Muyongo's return
The change shocked many.
The secessionist campaign plunged the Caprivi Strip (as it was known then), historically tied to the Lozi people who share cultural bonds with communities in Zambia, Angola, Botswana and South Africa, into turmoil.
Muyongo, once detained in Zambia and Tanzania before his expulsion from Swapo, ended his political career in exile in Europe after being expelled again in 1998.
“I am sorry that he is now living in Europe in old age. It is not nice to have a citizen at that stage of life living in a foreign country, but he made the wrong decisions,” Angula said.
Still, he was clear that Muyongo’s contribution cannot be erased, even though his former reputation has been overshadowed by his fall.
“We have to recognise his contribution. But as I said, it is a tragic story.”
Simmering tensions
Muyongo’s name surfaced again this year.
In June 2025, the banned United Democratic Party (UDP) staged a protest in Katima Mulilo, demanding Zambezi’s independence, the withdrawal of the army, and the return of Muyongo from exile in Denmark.
The petition, signed by chairperson Vasco Kabata and read by secretary Ronnicah Sipiho, accused the government of repression and human rights abuses.
Former Zambezi governor Lawrence Sampofu did not attend to receive the petition.
Instead, the government branded the demonstration a direct attempt to revive secessionist rhetoric, recalling the failed 1999 Caprivi armed rebellion.
It warned that “all options are on the table” to defend Namibia’s territorial integrity.
Internal conflict
That rebellion left a searing scar on Namibia’s young democracy.
On 2 August 1999, armed men of the Caprivi Liberation Movement launched attacks on government installations in Katima Mulilo, seeking to carve out independence.
The Namibia Defence Force and police swiftly crushed the uprising, killing at least 14 people and arresting more than 140.
A state of emergency was declared, marking Namibia’s first major internal conflict since independence.
Two decades later, analysts argue that the Namibian state has failed to engage meaningfully in peacebuilding in the region.
Instead, military deployments have dominated, leaving secessionist sentiment to simmer beneath the surface.
Security actors themselves have acknowledged that, under the right conditions, unrest could erupt again unless government finds ways to address and reconcile grievances.
It is against this backdrop that Angula’s reflection resonates.
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