Gabriel "Gabes" Shihepo (March 26, 1945Page at Namibian Parliament website
Absalom Shigwedha

''The Namibian'' (allAfrica.com), July 15, 2008. – July 14, 2008) was a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n politician. From 1999 to 2008, he was a Member of Parliament for

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

and served as a deputy minister in the Cabinet. Shihepo was born in Etale, in

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and O ...

. He worked as a teacher and school principal. From 1992 to 1995, he was Chairperson of the Omahangu Farmers' Association; he was also Chairperson of the Mangetti Farmers' Union from 1992 to 1999. He became President of the Namibian National Farmers' Union (NNFU) in 1995, serving in that post until 1999. Shihepo was elected to the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of cl ...

in 1999. He joined

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

as deputy

Minister of Information and Broadcasting The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is a ministerial level agency of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws in the areas of information, broadcasting, the press, and th ...

in October 1999, and served as deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting on March 21, 2000. Shihepo was later moved to the post of deputy Minister of Safety and Security, in which position he remained at the time of his death. While visiting northern Namibia, he died at the Ongwediva Medi-Park private hospital on July 14, 2008.

Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana Pendukeni "Penny" Iivula-Ithana (born 11 October 1952) is a Namibian politician who served as the secretary general of SWAPO, Namibia's ruling party, from 2007 to 2012. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia in 1989 and has been ...

, the Secretary-General of SWAPO, praised Shihepo as "a freedom fighter who did not waver", while opposition leaders

Katuutire Kaura Katuutire Kaura (3 February 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a Namibian politician. He was president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) from 1998 to 2013 and was the official leader of the opposition from 2000 to 2005.

Ben Ulenga Ben Ulenga (born Benjamin Crispus Ulenga on June 22, 1952Profi ...

, and

Ignatius Shixwameni Ignatius Nkotongo Shixwameni (4 September 1966 – 10 November 2021) was a Namibian politician. He was the leader of Namibia's All People's Party. Life Shixwameni was born in Shambyu, the traditional kingdom in the Kavango Region, and he earn ...

also gave positive personal assessments of Shihepo, saying that he was friendly and cooperative.

References

1945 births 2008 deaths Politicians from Ohangwena Region Ovambo people SWAPO politicians Members of the 3rd National Assembly of Namibia Members of the 4th National Assembly of Namibia {{Namibia-politician-stub