Angolan Consulate’s Tio Marcelino dies

Alberto Olimpio Marcelino Manwanwa, a senior officer at the Angolan consulate in Oshakati who died in the Oshakati State Hospital on September 27 after a long illness, will be buried in the municipal cemetery at Ongwediva tomorrow. Affectionately known as Tio Marcelino, the 70-year-old official was described as hardworking, friendly and patient. He was the point man in dealing with Angolans living in Namibia and acted as the de facto spokesperson of the consulate. “He is irreplaceable. He was the face of the Consulate, visiting imprisoned Angolans, those in hospitals and helping Angolan families identify the bodies of their dead relatives in local mortuaries. We have lost a true hero,” said a long-time colleague at the consulate, Isaac Tangeni. Marcelino was born in Lubango in southern Angola in 1944 and arrived in Namibia as a refugee immediately after the Angolan civil war broke out. He integrated himself with the local community, working among others as a shopkeeper at Oshakati before joining the Angolan consulate, then relocated to Ongwediva in 1992. He is survived by his wife, Emilia Shindinge, and eight children. The memorial service takes place at his home in the Evululuko informal settlement of Oshakati today. OSHAKATI PLACIDO HILUKILWA