Major General Charles Dickson Ndaxu Phillip Namoloh (born 28 February 1950) is 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 diplomat, politician and military figure who served in the

cabinet of Namibia The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 (Articles 35-42) of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any positions that the Presiden ...

as Minister of Safety and Security from March 2015 to March 2020. Namoloh has been a member of 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 ...

since 2005; having served as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from 2005 to 2012 and Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development from 2012 to 2015.

Personal

Namoloh was born on 28 February 1950, in

Odibo Odibo is a village in the north of Namibia close to the Angolan border known for its Anglicanism, Anglican mission ''St Mary''. It belongs to the Oshikango Constituency, Oshikango electoral constituency in the Ohangwena Region. Odibo is also an ...

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Ovambos, in South West Africa (present-day Namibia). The apartheid government stat ...

(now

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 attended his primary and secondary education at

Oshakati Oshakati is a town in northern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Oshana Region and one of Namibia's largest cities both by population and as an economic center. It had a population of 58,656 people in 2023. Oshakati was founded i ...

and

Tsumeb Tsumeb (; ) is a city of around 35,000 inhabitants and the largest town in the Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb, since its founding in 1905, has been primarily a mining town. The town is the site of a deep mine (the ...

between 1965 and 1970.

Career

Namoloh entered politics as a union organizer for the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO) in 1971, in

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

during the

Namibian War of Independence The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. Temporarily fleeing to southern

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, Namoloh returned but was arrested in 1973 for pro-SWAPO activities. After spending time in prison, Namoloh was released to Kwanyama (Ovamboland) authorities to receive lashes for supporting SWAPO. Following the decolonization of Angola in 1974 and the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, Namoloh fled with other

SWAPO Party Youth League The SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL), formerly known as the SWAPO Youth League (SYL), is the youth wing of the SWAPO Party, the ruling party of Namibia since 1990.Swapo party constitution It shares the same principles as those of the SWAPO Party. ...

members through Angola to SWAPO bases in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. Rising quickly through the

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the S ...

(PLAN), Namoloh became the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Dimo Hamaambo Lieutenant General Mweukefina Kulaumone Jerobeam Dimo Hamaambo (27 October 1932 – 8 September 2002), better known as Dimo Hamaambo, was a Namibian military officer and chief of staff of the Namibian Defence Force from 1990 to 2000. He pre ...

in 1979. He fought under the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

". Namoloh helped establish the

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Nami ...

following independence in 1990 and was given the rank of Major General and appointed as NDF Chief of Staff in the office of the Chief of Defence between 1990 and 1995. In 1995, Namoloh was sent to

as Namibia's representative. In 2003, the former PLAN commander was sent to

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as Namibia's top diplomat in that country. Namoloh returned home in 2005 to be selected for the National Assembly and appointed

. Following the fifth SWAPO congress at the end of November 2012, a cabinet reshuffle occurred on 4 December 2012, in which Namoloh was deployed as Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, succeeding

Jerry Ekandjo Jerry Lukiiko Ekandjo (born 17 March 1947) is a Namibian politician, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is one of the founding members of the SWAPO Youth League and has been one of the most active internal leading member ...

. Former prime minister

Nahas Angula Nahas Gideon Angula (born 22 August 1943)Profile on Namibian parliamen ...

took over Namoloh's defence portfolio. Under President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

, Namoloh was moved to the post of Minister of Safety and Security in March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namoloh, Charles Ndaxu 1950 births Living people Namibian military personnel Namibian diplomats Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Ohangwena Region Ambassadors of Namibia to Angola High commissioners of Namibia to India SWAPO politicians People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel Defence ministers of Namibia Urban and rural development ministers of Namibia Security ministers of Namibia