Remembering Mvula

Poet and journalist Mvula Ya Nangolo may have been an acquired taste to some, but those who had the luxury to develop a friendship with him remember him fondly, albeit as a no-nonsense man.One view all of them have in common is the fact that Mvula was a “plain-speaking” man and one who could drill overly sensitive cub reporters over the edge. Mvula made his mark in the hearts of Namibians with his Voice of Namibia radio programme broadcast from Tanzania. Ya Nangolo died last week at his home in Tauben Glen, Windhoek. He was 75.Many remember him as a sharp journalist and an even bolder poet. Former prime minister Nahas Angula said Mvula was a remarkably talented poet who used his voice to contribute to the liberation struggle of Namibia. “He was very gifted and creative; some of his poems were overly political but others not,” he recalls. Maggy Thomas, news editor at the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), who worked with Ya Nangolo as a young reporter when he was features editor at Nampa, said he was a “very, very strict” man. “He was a serious man and if you were sensitive you would think he was a hard and difficult man. He taught me to be focused and how to sniff out good human interest stories,” she recalls.She adds that he was a very good mentor and he had a good sense of humour. “He had a friend who used to collect items for auctions. They always had tea during lunch and one day we were at his friend's house and Mvula saw the many old items and he said, 'People who like old things are from poverty'. “The friend was offended and asked if Mvula was saying he is from poverty and Mvula replied, 'Why are you trying to fit into shoes that don't fit?' ” she reminisces.Nampa CEO Isak Hamata says Mvula was his mentor.“I really grew under his mentorship; of course there were others too but Mvula as our sub-editor had more influence over us and he didn't take any form of nonsense,” Hamata reminisces. He recalls how Mvula invited him for a one-hour meeting to his house when he was appointed as Nampa CEO, which instead became a full day. “He coached me and drilled some wisdom into me. I was never a CEO before, so I appreciated it,” said Hamata. He also recalls how he never bought a copy of Mvula's poems because he knew he would get them for free. JEMIMA BEUKES

Remembering Mvula

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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Remembering Mvula

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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